September 08, 2005
No. 13 Texas A&M puts its undefeated record on the line as the Aggies face their stiffest competition of the season this weekend at the UTSA Dome Rally to be held at the Alamodome in San Antonio, site of the Final Four. (A complete release in pdf format is available at AggieAthetics.com)
The 6-0 Aggies open against sixth-ranked and undefeated Florida (5-0) -- a team A&M has never defeated in five meetings -- Friday at 4:30 p.m. and need a victory against the Gators to match the best start in A&M history set in 1982. Sun Sports will televise the match at 7 p.m. (CDT).
A&M takes on LSU (6-0 entering a Friday contest against Texas-San Antonio) Saturday at 11 a.m. and concludes the tournament against No. 8 Southern California (2-2 entering the tournament) Sunday at 1p.m.
Audio of A&M's matches against LSU and USC will be available at AggieAthletics.com.
The tournament is A&M's final tune-up before opening the Big 12 Conference season at Kansas on Wednesday, Sept. 14.
The Aggies are undefeated after six matches for only the third time in school history after downing Sam Houston State, 3-1, in Huntsville. A&M, which was making its first road trip of the season, had swept its first five opponents and had won 17 consecutive games before dropping the third game against the Bearkats.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Texas A&M is 0-5 in the all-time series against Florida. The teams have not met since the fourth-ranked Gators downed No. 14 A&M, 15-4, 15-13, 15-4, in the second round of the 1995 NCAA Championship played at the O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla. The teams have never squared off at a neutral site.
A&M is 20-10 against LSU and has won the last three meetings; all three under head coach Laurie Corbelli. The teams last met Sept. 1, 2002, in College Station, where A&M dropped the first two games but rallied to defeat the Tigers, 30-32, 24-30, 30-16, 30-24, 15-10, at the McDonald's/Texas A&M Invitational I.
LSU's most recent victory over A&M was Oct. 31, 1992. The Tigers extended their winning streak against the Aggies to five with a 15-11, 15-4, 15-11 victory in Baton Rouge.
A&M will be looking for its first victory against USC after falling to the Women of Troy in each of the previous six meetings. The teams met twice in 2003 with No. 1 USC sweeping the Aggies at the Texas A&M/McDonald's Invitational in College Station and in the NCAA regional semifinals in Lincoln, Neb., en route to its second consecutive national championship title. It marked the second year the Aggies were eliminated from the NCAAs by the national champion, having been eliminated by the top-ranked Women of Troy in the second round of the 2002 NCAA Championships in Los Angeles.
TEXAS A&M NOTES
Undefeated after 6 -- A&M is 6-0 for only the third time in school history. The Aggies need a win against No. 6 Florida to equal the best start in school history, which came in 1982 when the Aggies won their first seven matches before falling to 19th-ranked Nebraska, 3-2.
The 2001 squad is the only other team to start the season 6-0. The Aggies had not lost a single game before dropping a 3-1 decision to ninth-ranked and eventual national-champion Stanford in the seventh match of the season. A&M finished the season 26-6 after advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight for only the second time in school history. The 2001 A&M squad was led by first-team All-American senior setter Jenna Moscovic, the older sister to former Florida setter Lauren Moscovic, who completed her eligibility last season.
Aggies Climb to No. 13 -- A&M climbed three spots from its preseason No. 16 national ranking to No. 13 in the first CSTV/AVCA Top 25 Poll of the regular season released Monday. Nebraska remained No. 1. Washington, Stanford, Penn State and Minnesota round out the top five. The Big 12 also is represented by No. 14 Missouri, No. 17 Texas and No. 24 Kansas State. Kansas, which A&M faces in the Big 12 season opener, is receiving votes and is listed 38th.
Jones Making Rapid Ascent - Laura Jones, the Texas A&M/McDonald's Invitational MVP, is averaging 5.59 kills per game and is rapidly climbing the A&M record books for career kills. The fourth-year starter reached the 20-plus-kill mark for the second time this season, posting 21 kills at Sam Houston State. Jones now has 1,459 career kills and needs only four kills to move into fifth place, surpassing Sherri Brinkman, who tallied 1,462 kills from 1985-88. Jones needs a total of 19 kills to surpass Cheri Steensma (1985-88), who is in fourth place with 1,477 kills. Twenty-one kills will catapult Jones to the No. 3 spot, ahead of Melissa Munsch, who completed her stellar career last year with 1,479 career kills. Krisitie Smedsrud (1994-97) is the all-time leader with 1,777.
Clay Digging In - Libero Holly Clay, who had averaged 1.74 digs per game over the past two seasons, is averaging a team-leading 5.28 digs per game this season. She has broken her previous career high of 15 digs in four of A&M's six matches this season, including a team-season high 22 digs in each of the last two matches. Clay earned all-tournament honors at the Texas A&M/McDonald's Invitational last weekend after averaging 5.62 digs per game.
Breaking Records - With Clay leading the backcourt defense and fending off opponents' potentially point-producing kills, A&M has already twice broken its record for fewest points allowed in a match. In the season opener, A&M held Prairie View A&M to 42 total points in a 30-12, 30-8, 30-22 victory. The 42 points allowed broke the previous record of 46 points in a 30-14, 30-17, 30-15 victory against McNeese State on Sept. 3, 2004. In only the third match following the record-setting performance against Prairie View A&M, the Aggies once again set a record, holding Lehigh to 39 points in a 30-9, 30-16, 30-15 victory at the McDonald's Invitational.
Homecoming for Yon - A&M's trip to the UTSA Dome Rally will be a homecoming for Aggie freshman Lindsey Yon. The outside hitter was a three-year standout at Reagan High School in San Antonio, twice earning first-team all-state honors. Yon also played club for the highly successful Alamo Volleyball Association. Yon has appeared in four matches for the Aggies, posting a career-high four kills in the season opener against Prairie View A&M.
Aggies Welcome Tulane Student-Athletes - Texas A&M has opened its classrooms and athletic facilities to 87 members of the Tulane volleyball, soccer, men's basketball, women's swimming and diving, and men's and women's tennis teams. The Green Wave student-athletes, whose campus was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina, began arriving and enrolling in classes on Tuesday. "Texas A&M students, faculty and staff have long been known for their spirit and willingness to help regardless of the situation," A&M athletic director Bill Byrne said. "We stand ready to assist Tulane and any school that has been affected by this terrible disaster."
DOME RALLY OPPONENT NOTES
Florida, which moved up two spots to No. 6 in the Top 25 Poll, is 5-0 and has defeated all of its opponents in three games, including a sweep against No. 15 UC Santa Barbara. The Gators, who are hitting the road for the first time, are coming off a 30-27, 30-16, 30-16 victory against Eastern Washington Monday in Gainesville.
Florida returns five starters from last year's team that was ranked No. 15 after advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament and finishing with a 28-5 record.
The Gators are led by All-American outside hitter Jane Collymore. The senior, who was a starting outside hitter for the USA Women's National Team at the 2005 Pan American Cup, is averaging a team-leading 4.13 kills and is second on the team with 3.2 digs per game.
As a team, Florida is outhitting its opponents .304 to .101. In addition, the Gators are averaging 16.6 kills, 1,8 aces, 17.53 digs and 2.93 blocks per game. Opponents are averaging 12.4 kills, 0.67 aces, 15.13 digs and 1.4 blocks per game.
Mary Wise is 464-48 (.906) in her 19th season as head coach of the Gators. She has directed Florida to 14 consecutive Southeastern Conference regular-season titles and to seven Final Four appearances.
LSU is 6-0 entering a Friday contest against Dome Rally host Texas-San Antonio. Senior outside hitter Jelena Mijatovic, who was named MVP at last weekend's Georgia State Invitational, leads the Tigers with 5.32 kills per game.
As a team, LSU is hitting .293 and averaging 17.59 kills, 13.18 digs and 2.55 blocks per game. Opponents are hitting .119 and are averaging 10.05 kills, 11.14 digs and 1.64 blocks per game.
Head coach Fran Flory is 114-101 in her eighth year at the helm of the Tigers. Flory served as an assistant coach at A&M in 1987 under former Aggie coach Al Givens and played her college career at Texas from 1980-83 and was a member of the Longhorns' 1981 AIAW national championship team.
USC enters the tournament 2-2 and faces Notre Dame on Friday and No. 6 Florida on Saturday. The Women of Troy opened the season with a sweep against Cal Poly but then suffered a 3-1 loss to No. 5 Penn State and a 3-0 setback at No. 4 Hawaii. USC ended its two-match skid with a 3-0 victory over Western Michigan.
USC, which slipped one spot to No. 8 in the first top 25 poll of the regular season, is led by two-time All-American and senior 6-5 middle blocker Bibiana Candelas, who is hitting .338 and averaging 4.31 kills per game.
As a team, the Women of Troy are hitting .256 and averaging 16.08 kills, 17.08 digs and 2.15 blocks per game. Opponents are hitting .203 and averaging 15.46 kills, 16.62 digs and 3.0 blocks per game.
Mick Haley is 116-13 in his fifth year as head coach at USC. During his short tenure, Haley has directed the Women of Troy to two NCAA titles (2002, 2003) and to the 2004 semifinals. Haley served as coach of the USA Women's Olympic Team at the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia. Prior to his stint with the national team, Haley was a longtime coach at Texas, spending 17 years in Austin and leading the Longhorns to two national titles and 13 Southwest Conference regular-season crowns.
UPCOMING
Texas A&M kicks off the 10th Big 12 Conference season Wednesday, Sept. 14, against Kansas in Lawrence.
The Aggies are 6-3 in Big 12 openers, including 3-3 when opening conference play on the road.
A&M, which is 17-2 all-time against the Jayhawks, has suffered a loss its last two trips to Kansas.