August 25, 2005
When opponents scout Texas A&M, they'll say: Watch out for . Laura Jones will say: Beware of the Aggies.
Jones, an All-American outside hitter, is on pace to become A&M's all-time leader in career kills. But the senior is more focused on leading the Aggies to their best season.
"Laura is a go-to player if there ever has been one," A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. "She has only one thing on her mind, and that is winning."
Corbelli expects the Aggies to do just that. She returns five starters and five other letterwinners from the 2004 squad that went 19-9 after advancing to the second round of the NCAA Championship. They will be joined by a touted group of freshmen.
 Senior All-American Laura Jones will anchor the Aggie attack in 2005. |
"The experience will really help," Corbelli said. "I'm expecting the level of determination to be at its peak and that we achieve something special this season."
Jones leads the way. The lanky 6-2 senior has played in every match during her three-year career, starting all but two. She has led the team in kills every season and set school records with 4.94 kills and 5.6 points per game last year as A&M remained one of only six teams to advance to at least the second round of the NCAA tournament every year since 1993 when Corbelli was named the Aggies' head coach. Jones, A&M's only AVCA National Player of the Week, also set an A&M NCAA tournament record with a career-high 30 kills in the second-round match against No. 10 Tennessee.
She needs 414 kills to break the A&M career record of 1,777 set by Kristie Smedsrud (1994-97). The fewest kills Jones has recorded in a season is 422 as a freshman.
But if opponents concentrate entirely on containing Jones, they will be setting themselves up for defeat. She is surrounded by players who are determined to open up Jones' lethal attack even more by taking away some of the focus.
"I know that opponents are going to be all over Laura, and she knows it too," Corbelli said, "so it isn't anything that she doesn't expect and that the team doesn't expect. This team will have more going for it, because it will be following an exceptionally strong, determined leader who has the confidence. When that is there, it is pretty incredible to see the other players and see how effective they are and how things start to really come together."
Jones' counterpart on the left side is hard-hitting , a returning starter who is slated to graduate in December. Burton gained invaluable experience and made substantial progress in her first year of competition last season after redshirting her first year and being sidelined with various injures throughout her second season.
"We have the potential to have the two highest left-side attack percentages in a single season," Corbelli said. "On both of our Elite Eight teams, we had low or mid .200s from our left sides at times, but Burton and Jones both have the potential to hit close to .300. They have the power, the experience and the knowledge, and if they are both on and feeling confident and comfortable, it is going to be a great year for our left sides."
Freshmen and will provide depth on the left. Yon has experienced success against the top club teams in the country and is projected to challenge for playing time. Sherrill doesn't possess as much experience, but she has the all-around athleticism, intellect and drive to quickly develop into a competitive left-side attacker in the Big 12.
"Both are driven and are great competitors, but we don't have a lot of experienced back-up on the left," Corbelli said.
Returning starters and and projected starter , along with the complementary setting duo of and , shore up a balanced and formidable front row from antenna to antenna.
Felder, a fifth-year senior and two-year starter in the middle, hit a team-leading .311 last year and ranked second to All-American middle blocker Melissa Munsch with 1.02 blocks per game after leading the team with a 1.09 block average as a sophomore. She also saw action on the right side during the spring.
Hahn, a junior, and Stanton, a sophomore, also are valuable commodities for Corbelli not only because of their strength and power, but because of the flexibility and options they offer with their ability to play either the middle or the right side. The explosive Hahn, whose power in the air Corbelli describes as "second to none", started on the right last season but also saw action in the middle.
Stanton made her only start in the regular-season finale against No. 2 Nebraska last year, replacing an injured Munsch in the middle. Stanton also has trained on the right side and played a significant amount of games there during the spring.
"Felder, Hahn and Stanton are great blockers as well as hard workers in terms of creating the speed of attack that middles are in charge of creating," Corbelli said.
 Laurie Corbelli returns 10 letterwinners and five starters from a 2004 squad that advanced to the NCAA Championships for the 12th straight year. |
"Hahn has done a super job on the right, but I may need her in the middle, so I'm not positive who is going to be on the right to begin the season, but I know we will be strong. I have so many great options with people who have played the middle who can block well, who can run a quick attack, who can do all the things that right sides need to do."
Corbelli also foresees using Kainz and freshman middle blocker , a Mizuno/Volleyball Magazine first-team All-American and the Texas Gatorade Player of the Year, on the right side at times. Freshman , whose effortless jump and ability to hover high above the net are unlike any middle blocker Corbelli has had, will train and provide depth at both the right and the middle.
"I'm excited about the all of the options we have in the middle and on the right," Corbelli said. "I don't see us being overly concerned about those areas."
Corbelli also is not worried about Kelley or Kainz, contrasting setters who will be responsible for running A&M's potent offense. Kelley, a senior, drew the starting nod in every match over then-freshman Kainz last season, but Corbelli anticipates maximizing both players' abilities regardless if she uses a 5-1 or 6-2 offense.
"Our setting will be a strength," Corbelli said. "We've got a great senior setter with tons of experience and a great court presence who has earned a lot of respect from her teammates. We also have a sophomore setter who is incredibly physical and competitive and is ready to go.
"They are both very reliable in what they do. They have different strengths, and they both want to be on the court. They are both capable in the front row as attackers and blockers, so running a 6-2 would be ideal. The two make running a 6-2 a great possibility and another option for us."
While Corbelli is excited about the team's prowess and flexibility at the net both in blocking and attacking, she also is high on the feisty corps of liberos/defensive specialists returning to protect the back court. The intense and aggressive , who has been the team's designated libero for the past two years, returns for her senior season.
"Holly brings an essential ingredient to our team," Cobelli said. "Her fight and desire and just her presence says, 'Let's don't mess around; we are winning this match.' Her passing has come full circle, not only her technique, but her consistency and confidence. Plus she offers flexibility because she has trained and is comfortable in all three positions in the back court."
Clay heads up a pair of sophomores, and , who display some of the same dogged determination as their elder stateswoman. The two have made rapid progress and are expected to play a vital role in the back row.
IN-DEPTH: AGGIE VOLLEYBALL '05GONE: BACK: 5 starters, 10 letterwinners Returning Starters: COMING: 4 freshmen |
"We have the potential to be a great defensive team," Corbelli said. "Our blocking is more disciplined and looked great in the spring, and our floor defense will be handled by Holly, Jen and Courtney, defensive-minded individuals who are very focused on their passing and defense. It is nice to have the depth and ability of all three of them and what they each have to offer."
Although Corbelli is encouraged by offensive and defensive possibilities, the team's overall effectiveness and success will depend on serving and passing, which are two areas of concern.
"It is my universal belief that volleyball comes down to serving and passing, and I don't know if we are where I would like to be with those two skills," she said. "I'm a little bit concerned with serving, because it needs to be better. We do have some really good servers, but as a team we need to improve our confidence and aggressiveness."
"Passing could be a weakness simply because it is streaky for this group, particularly on the road. Passing determines so much of what happens on the court, so we are going to be working hard on it and the adjustments that we need to make when the passing needs to improve during a match."
But if a player is struggling in those areas, others are ready and capable to step in.
"With 10 returners, anybody is ready to go at those positions where we have depth," Corbelli said. "We don't have a standout six, and that is very comforting to know that they all are so capable of making things happen and running the system and the plays the way they need to be run. We really don't drop a level."
Another area that has not seen a drop is the caliber of competition. Fifteen of A&M's 29 regular-season matches are against teams that advanced to the 2004 NCAA tournament, and seven of those contests are against teams that ranked in the final top 15.
A&M is scheduled to play 15 matches at G. Rollie White Coliseum, where the Aggies sport a .876 winning percentage since Big 12 Conference play began in 1996 and ranked 11th in the nation in home average attendance in 2004.
"Our home court is a big strength that the Aggies have always used to their advantage," Corbelli said. "The 12th Man and the Hullabaloo Band create a great atmosphere, which helps the team play better and have so much more fun."
The season gets under way Aug. 26-27 with a three-team home tournament against Prairie View A&M and Texas-Arlington. A&M remains home to host the McDonald's/Texas A&M Invitational Sept. 2-3. Headlining the list of participants is Saint Mary's College, which advanced to the NCAA regionals and ranked 13th in last year's final poll. A&M also will face Lehigh and Virginia.
Following a midweek road trip to Sam Houston State, the Aggies participate in the UTSA Dome Rally at the San Antonio Alamodome, site of the 2005 NCAA Final Four. A&M takes on Florida, which has captured or shared the Southeastern Conference regular-season title in each of the last 14 years and ranked No. 15 in the 2004 final poll. The Aggies also face a much-improved LSU squad followed by Southern California, which has advanced to the NCAA semifinals four of the last five years and won the national title in 2003.
The three-day tournament marks the Aggies' final tune-up before beginning Big 12 play.
"The competition at that tournament is the best we could ask for to get us ready for the Big 12 season," Corbelli said. "And hopefully playing those high-caliber teams at the site of the Final Four will inspire the team to return to that facility at the end of the year."
The Aggies begin their quest for their first Big 12 Conference title when they take on Kansas in Lawrence on Sept. 14. A&M opens the home portion of its conference slate Sept. 16 against the Missouri Tigers, who tied the Aggies for third place in the 2004 league standings with a 14-6 mark.
Other key matchups include defending Big 12-champion Nebraska Sept. 21 in Lincoln and Nov. 9 in College Station, as well as Texas, which finished second in the Big 12 and ranked 11th nationally, Oct. 1 at G. Rollie and Oct. 26 in Austin for a match that will be televised by CSTV.
A&M culminates the regular season at Missouri on Nov. 26.
"It will be another incredibly challenging year in the Big 12, especially with so many of the top athletes from last season returning," Corbelli said. "Every year this league is getting stronger across the board, and I believe there is the potential to have six teams, possibly more, finish in the Top 25."
If Jones and Company can stay successful at home and improve their results on the road, where A&M teams have had a tendency to struggle, the Aggies have the opportunity to not only advance beyond the second round of the NCAA Championships, but to play at home for NCAA regionals for the first time.
A&M, which is 14-0 in home NCAA matches, was selected as one of the four predetermined regional hosts Dec. 8-11.
"We are really fortunate to be awarded the regional," Corbelli said, "and one of the greatest inspirations for this team will be working hard to be able to be playing in those third and fourth rounds of the NCAA tournament. Getting there will be one of the greatest challenges this program has taken on."
If the Aggies rise to the challenge, it will be a record-setting year for everyone.