September 01, 2005
Texas A&M/McDonald's Invitational Schedule:
Friday, Sept. 2
12 p.m. No. 23 Saint Mary's vs. Lehigh
4:30 p.m. Virginia vs. Lehigh
6:30 p.m. No. 16 Texas A&M vs. No. 23 Saint Mary's
Saturday, Sept. 3
10 a.m. No. 23 Saint Mary's vs. Virginia
12 p.m. No. 16 Texas A&M vs. Lehigh
4:30 p.m. No. 16 Texas A&M vs. Virginia
(Discount tickets available at Bryan/College Station McDonald's locations.)
The 16th-ranked Texas A&M volleyball team returns to the court this weekend as the Aggies welcome No. 23 Saint Mary's, Virginia and Lehigh to the Texas A&M/McDonald's Invitational Friday and Saturday at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
Action gets underway Friday at noon as Saint Mary's takes on Lehigh. Lehigh then faces Virginia at 4:30 p.m., followed by a top-25 showdown between the Aggies and Saint Mary's at 6:30 p.m.
"We will need to bring a sharper game for this tournament," said A&M coach Laurie Corbelli whose Aggies are 2-0 after sweeping both Prairie View A&M and Texas-Arlington last weekend in College Station. "We have been working a lot on speeding up our offense even when we are a little bit out of system. It looks really good, but as we play these better teams and more volleyball, we will get another indication of where we are, which players are bringing their best games and who is working their way into the starting lineup."
On Saturday, Saint Mary's meets Virginia at 10 a.m. and A&M meets Lehigh at noon. The final match of the tournament between A&M and Virginia will begin at 4:30 p.m., which will allow Aggie fans time to get home to watch A&M football's season opener at Clemson at 7 p.m.
"We all want to get a chance to cheer on the Aggie football team from our home sets or wherever, so we moved our match to 4:30 to accommodate fans who also would like to come out and support the Aggies in G. Rollie, where the excitement and fun is unforgettable. The atmosphere this year looks like it is going to be the best ever, and it is just something you don't want to miss. Once you go, you'll absolutely have a blast."
Saint Mary's, which ranked No. 13 in the 2004 final poll after advancing to the NCAA regional semifinals, is 3-0 after going undefeated at the Cal State Northridge Tournament last weekend. The Gaels registered sweeps against both Arizona State and UNLV and defeated CS Northridge, 3-1.
Lehigh is 0-3 following three-game losses to Temple, Rutgers and Towson.
Virginia will be making its season debut. The Cavaliers' roster boasts three players from Texas, including freshman middle blocker Shannon Davis, who is a former teammate of A&M's Meghan Kainz and Kelsey Bryant at Westlake High School in Austin.
This will be A&M's first meeting against all three teams.