November 29, 2005
Texas A&M (16-13, 9-11 Big 12) received its 13th consecutive at-large bid and its 17th overall berth to the NCAA Championship and will face Big Ten at-large representative Northwestern in the first round on Thursday. First serve is at 5 p.m. (4 p.m. CST) at Joyce Center on the University of Notre Dame campus in South Bend, Ind.
(A complete release in pdf format available at AggieAthletics.com.)
The host Notre Dame Fighting Irish (28-3), who earned an automatic berth and a No. 6 seed in the 64-team field after winning the BIG EAST Conference tournament, meet Dayton (24-10), the winner of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament, in the other first-round match in South Bend.
The winners of the two first-round matches meet Friday at 7 p.m. (6 p.m. CST), with the winner advancing to the College Station Regional, Dec. 9-10.
The Aggies, who have never lost an NCAA first-round match under 13th-year coach Laurie Corbelli and are one of only six teams to advance to at least the second round every year during her A&M tenure, enter the tournament having won seven of their last nine matches. A&M concluded the regular season by falling at No. 10 Missouri, 3-2, which snapped the Aggies?â„¢ five-match winning streak.
Northwestern also made a late-season surge, winning seven of its final eight matches to earn its third NCAA appearance in the last four years and seventh appearance overall. The Wildcats, who ended the regular season by defeating Indiana, 3-1, on the road, will be looking for their first NCAA postseason victory after going 0-6 in their previous six appearances.
Notre Dame, whose No. 6 tournament seed is the highest in school history, is making its 14th consecutive trip to the NCAAs and 15th overall appearance. The Irish had a seven-match winning streak snapped when they fell to Tennessee, 3-2, in the final match of the regular season. The Fighting Irish are coach by Debbie (Landreth) Brown, who was a teammate of A&M coach Laurie (Flachmeier) Corbelli?â„¢s on the U.S. national team in 1980 when USA boycotted the Olympic Games in Moscow.
Dayton received its third consecutive and third overall automatic NCAA berth after winning its third straight Atlantic 10 tournament title. The Flyers enter the tournament having won 19 of their last 20 matches after falling to Miami (Ohio), 3-1, in the regular-season finale.
TEXAS A&M TOURNAMENT NOTES
Texas A&M is making its 13th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Championships and its 17th overall appearance (1981, ?â„¢82, ?â„¢85, ?â„¢86, ?â„¢93, ?â„¢94, ?â„¢95, ?â„¢96, ?â„¢97, ?â„¢98,?â„¢ 99, ?â„¢00, ?'01, ?'02, ?'03, ?'04 and ?'05) since the inception of the tournament in 1981?...The Aggies are 11-0 in first-round matches under 13th-year head coach Laurie Corbelli ?- A&M had a first-round bye in 1995 ?- and is one of only six teams (Florida, Nebraska, Penn State, Southern California, Stanford and A&M) to advance to at least the second round in each of the last 12 NCAA tournaments....A&M is 13-2 all-time in first-round matches, including 5-2 in first-round matches played on the road...The Aggies sport a 20-16 (.556) all-time record in the NCAA tournament, including a 18-12 (.600) mark during Corbelli?â„¢s A&M tenure?...In the 2004 NCAA Championships, A&M received an at-large bid and was sent to Knoxville, Tenn., to face Winthrop, an automatic qualifier from the South Conference. The Aggies swept the Eagles, 30-26, 30-23, 30-25, but fell to No. 10-ranked and 12th-seeded Tennessee, 21-30, 30-24, 30-23, 32-30 in the second round...A&M has never won more than one match on the road in a single NCAA tournament...A&M?â„¢s best finish in the NCAA tournament were Elite Eight appearances in 1999 and 2001...Should A&M win its first two rounds this year, the Aggies would return to College Station, where Texas A&M serves as host of a regional for the first time and where the Aggies are 14-0 all-time in NCAA matches...The Aggies are 5-10 against the tournament field this season...The Big 12, ranked the second toughest conference in the national according to RichKern.com, led all conferences with seven teams selected to the tournament field. The Big 12 is represented by No. 1 seed Nebraska, No. 10 seed Missouri, Colorado, Kansas, Kansas State, Texas and Texas A&M...Nebraska earned the Big 12?â„¢s automatic bid by winning the conference title with a 19-1 record.
TEAM PROFILES
Texas A&M tied Iowa State for sixth place in the Big 12 with a 9-11 mark...The Aggies are led by 2004 second-team All-American Laura Jones, a senior outside hitter who leads the nation with 6.09 kills per game...Freshman right-side hitter Kelsey Bryant leads the team with a .351 hitting efficiency, and junior middle blocker Christi Hahn, named the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week on Nov. 21, is second on the team with a .324 hitting percentage and 2.83 kills and 3.58 points per game. She and senior middle blocker Kendra Felder are tied for the lead among the Aggie starters, each averaging 0.86 blocks per game. Senior libero Holly Clay leads the squad and is ranked third in the Big 12 in digs with a 4.04 average, and setter Kari Kelley is averaging 11.31 assists per game...A&M is outhitting its opponents, .243 to .222, including .282 to .239 in the last nine matches of the regular season...A&M is 6-8 when playing of the road, including 1-2 at neutral sites.
Northwestern (19-11) went 7-1 to close out the regular season and finish sixth in the Big Ten, rated the toughest conference in the nation according to RichKern.com...The Wildcats are receiving points in the CSTV/AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll and are listed 29th...Sophomore outside hitters Lindsay Anderson and junior middle blocker Julie Purcell take the most swings for the Wildcats and are averaging 3.69 and 2.76 kills per game but are being held to a combined .192 hitting efficiency...Sophomore 6-3 middle blocker Brittney Aldridge is hitting .294 with 2.19 kills per game and leads the team with 1.24 blocks per game...Senior libero Christie Gardner is averaging 5.02 digs per game...As a team, the Wildcats are outhitting their opponents, .215 to .201...Northwestern missed the 2004 NCAA tournament after receiving back-to-back invitations in 2002 and 2003. The Wildcats fell to then-No. 12 seed Washington, 3-0, in the first round of the 2003 tournament...Keylor Chan (Florida, 1995) is in his sixth season as head coach of the Wildcats.
Notre Dame (28-3) went 13-1 in the BIG EAST Conference, with its only loss coming at Pittsburgh in five games...The Irish, who are ranked No. 11 in this week?â„¢s AVCA Top 25 Poll, won their ninth conference tournament title in 11 years of league membership by defeating seventh-ranked Louisville, 3-2, in the championship match...Sophomore outside hitter Adrianna Stasiuk was named the MVP at the BIG EAST tournament...Senior 6-3 All-American middle blocker Lauren Brewster leads Notre Dame with a .318 hitting percentage along with 3.90 kills and 1.59 blocks per game. Senior outside hitter Lauren Kelbley is averaging 3.59 kills per game while hitting at a .286 clip...All three of Notre Dame?â„¢s losses have been to unranked opponents (LSU, Pittsburgh and Tennessee) and all three went five games...Notre Dame is 13-1 in home matches this season and 6-2 all-time in home NCAA matches...Last year, the Irish defeated Valparaiso, 3-1, in the NCAA first round and fell to No. 14 seed Wisconsin, 3-0, in the second round at Madison...Notre Dame is 13-15 all-time in the NCAAs and has made five trips to the round of 16. The Irish?â„¢s best run was in 1993 when they advanced to the regional finals...Debbie Brow (Arizona State, 1982) is in her 15th season as head coach at Notre Dame.
Dayton (24-10) had won 19 consecutive matches before falling to Miami (Ohio) in four games in the regular season finale. The Flyers are led by Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Faye Barhorst. The 6-3 junior middle blocker is averaging 4.10 kills and 1.3 blocks per game and also is hitting a team-best .401. Senior Nicole Schott (12.74 apg) was tabbed Setter of the Year, and third-year coach Tim Horsmon was named Coach of the Year...Dayton is 2-1 all-time in the NCAA tournament. Last year the Flyers fell to No. 8 seed Ohio State, 3-0, in the first round.
ALL-TIME SERIES RECORDS
A&M is 1-0 against Northwestern, having defeated the Wildcats, 13-15, 15-6, 11-15, 15-9, 15-13 on Sept. 7, 1988, in College Station under former Aggie head coach Al Givens.
A&M holds a narrow 4-3 lead in the all-time series against Notre Dame. The teams last met in 1997 at the Joyce Center for the Tournament of Champions. The Aggies swept then No. 25 Notre Dame, 17-15, 15-9, 15-10, en route to the tournament title. It marks the only meeting between the two teams in South Bend. The victory snapped a two-match losing streak against the Irish, who took two matches off the Aggies in 1994, a 3-0 victory at the Colorado Coors Tournament, and a 3-1 win over the host Aggies at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
A&M and Dayton have never met.
A&M hosts NCAA Regional
Texas A&M?â„¢s G. Rollie White Coliseum is one of four sites selected to host the 2005 NCAA Division I Women?â„¢s Volleyball Regional. Regional matches will be held December 9-10.
This is the third year volleyball regional sites have been predetermined. Others sites selected to hold regional matches in 2005 are the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb., hosted by the University of Nebraska; the Recreation Building in University Park, Pa., hosted by Penn State; and Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif., hosted by Stanford University.
A&M NCAA Regional tickets on sale ?- Tickets to the 2005 NCAA Division I Women?â„¢s Volleyball Regional to be held at G. Rollie White Coliseum, Dec. 9-10, are on sale at the Texas A&M Athletic Ticket Office. Semifinal matches will be Dec. 9 at 5 and 7 p.m. The regional final match will be held Dec.10 at 5 p.m. Prices are $25 for reserved seats, $15 for adult general admission and $10 for youth general admission.
All-session tickets also may be purchased by calling the ticket office at 1-888-99-AGGIE or ordering online at AggieAthletics.com/NCAAvolleyball.