December 04, 2003
The 24th-ranked Texas A&M volleyball team (21-9) received its 11th consecutive at-large bid and its 15th overall berth to the NCAA Championship. In addition, the Aggies are the No. 16 seed in the 64-team tournament field and have been selected to host first and second rounds. A&M, which has never lost a first-round match under coach Laurie Corbelli, opens postseason action against Nicholls State (18-14) Friday at 7 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum. The Colonels received an automatic bid and are making their first NCAA tournament appearance after winning the Southland Conference tournament.
Arizona (17-14), an at-large selection from the Pacific-10 Conference, and Wisconsin (21-10), an at-large selection representing the Big Ten Conference, square off in the other first round match at G. Rollie Friday at 5 p.m. The two first-round winners meet Saturday at 7 p.m. at G. Rollie, with the winner advancing to the regional to be hosted by Nebraska in Lincoln, Dec. 12-13. Live scoring of all matches and free live audio and video streaming of A&M matches only will be available at www.AggieAthletics.com.
The Aggies enter the tournament after breaking a two-match losing skid by sweeping Iowa State in the regular-season finale. With the win, A&M finished tied with Colorado and Kansas for third place in the Big 12 with a 13-7 mark. Nicholls State, which is riding a six-match winning streak, won its last three regular-season matches to earn the sixth and last spot in the Southland Conference tournament and then won all three tournament matches to stake claim to its first conference title and NCAA automatic bid. Arizona is making its eighth consecutive NCAA appearance and 19th overall. The Wildcats received an at-large bid after winning their last four Pac-10 matches to tie No. 12 seed Washington for fifth place in the league standings with a 10-8 mark. Wisconsin is making its eighth consecutive and its 12 overall NCAA appearance. The Badgers went 13-7 and placed fourth in the Big Ten, which is sending a nation-leading seven teams to the postseason tournament.
TEXAS A&M NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES: A&M is making its 11th consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament and its 15th overall appearance (1981, '82, '85, '86, '93, '94, '95, '96, '97, '98,' 99, '00, '01, '02 and '03) since the inception of the tournament in 1981...The Aggies are 9-0 in first-round matches under 11th-year head coach Laurie Corbelli...A&M had a first-round bye in 1995...and 11-2 all-time in first-round matches...This is the 10th year A&M has hosted an NCAA tournament match, and it is the fifth time the Aggies have hosted with Corbelli as coach...The home court has proven favorable to the Aggies, who are 12-0 all-time in NCAA matches played at G. Rollie White Coliseum...The Aggies sport a 17-14 (.548) all-time record in the NCAA tournament, including a 15-10 (.600) mark during Corbelli's A&M tenure...Last year A&M was sent to Los Angeles where the Aggies defeated 23rd-ranked Utah, 3-0, in the first round and then fell to host and No. 1-seed USC, who went on to capture the national championship. It was the second consecutive year the Aggies were eliminated by the eventual national champion, having fallen to Stanford in 2002...A&M's best finish in the NCAA tournament were Elite Eight appearances in 1999 and 2001...The Aggies are 8-8 against the tournament field this season...The Big 12 Conference is represented by six teams in the tournament field: No. 6 seed Kansas State, No. 9 seed Nebraska, No. 16 seed Texas A&M, Colorado, Kansas, which is making its first trip to the NCAAs, and Missouri...Kansas State captured its first conference title in the 30-year history of the program to earn the Big 12's automatic bid.
TEAM PROFILES
Texas A&M finished the 2003 regular season with a 21-9 record, reaching the 20-victory milestone for the ninth consecutive year and the 10th time overall during Laurie Corbelli's 11-year A&M coaching career... After finishing an all-time low fifth place in the Big 12 race in 2002, the Aggies rebounded to tie Colorado and Kansas for third with a 13-7 league mark in 2003. A&M closed out the 2003 regular season by sweeping Iowa State in College Station to snap a two-match losing skid. The Aggies improved to 10-3 in home matches...First-team All-Big 12 selection Melissa Munsch leads A&M's balanced squad, averaging a team-high 4.60 points and 0.37 aces per game. The junior middle blocker also ranks second on the team with 3.68 kills and 1.04 blocks per game...Sophomore outside hitter Laura Jones, who earned All-Big 12 honorable mention, leads the Aggies with 3.75 kills per game and ranks second with 4.30 points and 2.93 digs per game...Senior rightside hitter Carol Price sports a team-leading .294 hitting percentage, and senior outside hitter Beth Skypala averages a team-best 3.48 digs pre game...Junior middle blocker Kendra Felder is tops in blocking with a 1.08 average. She has 111 block assists and needs one more to break into A&M's season top 10 record book...The Aggies are ranked 21st in the nation with 15.01 assists per game with junior Lexy Beers averaging 8.58 assists and sophomore Kari Kelley averaging 6.98 assists per game in A&M's 6-2 offensive scheme...As a team, A&M is hitting .249 for the season and averaging 16.3 kills, 17.16 digs and 2.58 blocks per game...Opponents are hitting .207 and are averaging 15.21 kills, 14.03 assists, 15.72 digs and 2.0 blocks per game. Nicholls State is making its first appearance in the NCAA tournament after streaking through the Southland Conference tournament field and earning the league's automatic bid...Senior outside hitter Caley Carter, who earned tournament MVP honors after leading the Colonels to the SLC championship title, is averaging a team-high 4.65 kills per game...Freshman KaLeigh Butler is hitting a team-best .301 and also leads the Colonels with 1.03 blocks per game...As a team, NSU is hitting .218 and averaging 14.74 kills, 15.07 digs and 1.92 blocks per game...Opponents are hitting .195 and averaging 1.15 kills, 15.03 digs and 2.32 blocks per game...The Colonels have won their last six matches to equal the team's longest winning streak of the season...Coach M.J. Engstrom is in her third season at the helm of the Colonels. Arizona slipped one spot to No. 22 in the AVCA Top 25 Poll after falling to then-No. 22 UC-Santa Barbara, 3-0, in the final match of the regular season. The loss ended the Wildcats' season-high five-match winning streak...Arizona is 22-18 all-time in postseason play, including 12-7 in tournament-opening matches, as well as 12-3 in the last four NCAA tournaments...The Wildcats, who have reached the Elite Eight in each of the last three seasons -- including a Final Four appearance in 2001 -- are 7-11 against the tournament field this season...Kim Glass, the AVCA Freshman of the Year and a second-team All-American in 2002, led the Pac-10 in kills and points per game in conference play and was the Wildcats' sole representative on the All-Pac 10 team...The sophomore outside hitter ranks 10th in the country with 5.62 kills per game, and she has broken the Arizona single season for kills in a season for the second consecutive year with 630...Arizona is 1-1 in neutral matches and 5-7 at away matches this season...The Wildcats are 5-9 against Top 25 opponents. All five wins have been against opponents ranked No. 11 or higher...Head coach David Rubio (Cal State Northridge '82) is 217-109 (.666) in his 12th season at the helm of the Wildcats. Wisconsin is making its eighth consecutive and 12th overall appearance in the NCAA tournament and has a 19-11 all-time record in postseason play...The Badgers went 1-1 in the NCAA tournament last year, sweeping Alabama A&M and then falling to unranked Miami, a second-year program who is coached by former A&M assistant coach Nicole (Lantagne) Welch...The Badgers' best finish was 2000 when they advanced to the NCAA championship match before falling to Nebraska in five games...This is the first year Wisconsin opens first-round action on the road since 1999, coach Pete Waite's first year at the helm of the Badgers...Wisconsin is riding a two-match winning streak after defeating Indiana and Purdue both in Madison, Wis...The Badgers, who are 3-1 at neutral sites and 6-6 in away matches, are led by sophomore outside hitter Aubrey Meierotto, who is averaging 3.65 kills per game while hitting at a .287 clip...Junior outside hitter Jill Odenthal leads the team with a .305 hitting percentage while averaging 3.60 kills per game...Senior setter Morgan Shields is ranked ninth in the nation with 13.60 assists per game...Wisconsin placed fourth in the Big 10 with a 13-7 mark.SERIES RECORDS
Texas A&M is 4-0 in the all-time series against Nicholls State, including 3-0 in matches contested in College Station...The teams, however, have not met since Oct. 8, 1982, when A&M defeated the Colonels, 15-9, 15-4, en route to the tournament title at the LSU Invitational in Baton, Rouge, La.
Texas A&M holds a narrow 4-3 advantage in the all-time series against Arizona, including a 1-0 record in College Station...The teams last met Nov. 17, 1990, with A&M defeating the Wildcats, 17-15, 15-12, 12-15, 15-12, in Tucson, Ariz...Arizona is 1-0 against the Aggies in NCAA competition, having eliminated A&M with a 15-6, 15-8, 15-7 sweep in the first round of the 1982 tournament.
Wisconsin, which is making its first trip to College Station, owns a 3-1 record against the Aggies. A&M's lone win was a huge upset as the 15th-ranked Aggies swept No. 6 Wisconsin in the 2001 NCAA regional semifinals in Palo Alto, Calif...Last year, the Badgers downed A&M in four games at the Wisconsin InnTowner Invitational in Madison.