July 13, 2005
Jennifer Carey, a former standout setter at the University of Hawaii, has been named Texas A&M's director of volleyball operations, Aggie volleyball coach Laurie Corbelli announced.
"I'm so excited to become a part of this tradition-filled school," Carey said. "I've known Laurie and John (Corbelli, associate head coach) for a long time, and I am eager to watch the way they work, see what all they do and learn from them.
"I would like to get into college coaching some day, but as a business administration and marketing major I also enjoy the administrative side. I just want to learn from the staff and see what all is involved."
Carey's responsibilities include coordinating and organizing team travel, on-campus recruiting, tape exchange, equipment inventory and summer camps exclusively for the volleyball program.
"Jenn has been around volleyball all of her life, most recently as a student-athlete and then as a club coach," Corbelli said. "She is passionate about the sport, and she is excited about learning the inner workings of the administrative side and what all it takes to run a Division I program in order to help her achieve her goal of being a coach at this level.
"Jenn is very enthusiastic and driven, and she is a great fit for us," Corbelli added. "I'm excited that she is joining us for this upcoming season for which we have set extremely high goals and will be hosting a regional. That she will be able to share her experiences and inspire the team to work hard and go beyond is an extra reward."
Carey, from Newport Beach, Calif., had an illustrious prep career, leading Newport Harbor High School to consecutive California Interscholastic Federation Division I titles her last two years (1997-98). She was named the Gatorade West Region Player of the Year as a senior and also was named first-team All-American by Volleyball magazine.
Carey, who made an official recruiting visit to Texas A&M, accepted a scholarship to Hawaii and was the Rainbow Wahine's starting setter as a freshman. The all-Western Athletic Conference second-team honoree led Hawaii to a 29-2 record and a No. 8 ranking after falling to the Aggies in the 1999 NCAA Mountain Regional semifinals in Honolulu.
Carey, who was the starting setter as a sophomore, played right-side hitter as a junior and shared setting duties as a senior, directed Hawaii to two NCAA semifinal appearances, two No. 3 final rankings and a 123-12 record during her four-year career. She was a three-time member of the all-WAC second team and ended her career ranked fourth on the Hawaii career assist records with 3,540.
Following her graduation with a bachelor of business administration degree in marketing from Hawaii in May 2003, Carey worked as a sales and marketing executive at KHNL and K5 Television in Honolulu. She also served as the station's color analyst at Hawaii men's and women's volleyball matches.
Carey played professional volleyball in Germany in the fall of 2004 and then returned to California to coach for Saddleback Valley Volleyball Club, the same club in which she played for and was teammates with former A&M players Michelle Cole and Tara Pulaski prior to her collegiate career.
"A&M is constantly a top 25 program and is very well respected across the country," Carey said. "They compete in a very difficult and competitive conference, and when I was being recruited, A&M was the place I wanted to go. It didn't work out that year, so I look at this as my second chance to be an Aggie.
"There is something special about college athletics; the spirit and excitement. I love the fanatic sports fans at A&M, and to be part of this program is a great honor."