March 07, 2008
The Texas A&M volleyball team is slated to compete in four exhibition tournaments during its off-season spring schedule, Aggie head coach Laurie Corbelli announced.
A&M?â„¢s first competition will be Thursday, March 20 at Rice in Houston. Matches will be played from 4-8 p.m., with the Aggies facing the Owls, coached by former Aggie player and assistant coach Genny (Wood) Volpe, as well as the University of Houston.
A&M will host an all-day tournament on April 5 at G. Rollie White Coliseum. Other teams scheduled to participate are Houston, Houston Baptist, Lamar, LSU, Rice, Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin. Admission to the tournament is free.
On April 12, A&M will compete at the Texas Tornados annual tournament in Houston. Teams confirmed to be at the tournament are Arkansas, Baylor, Houston, Kansas State, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, New Orleans, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, defending national champion Penn State, Rice, South Florida, SMU, Stephen F. Austin and Texas.
The Aggies conclude their spring schedule April 19 at the University of Houston tournament. A&M is likely to face the Cougars, as well as Houston Baptist, LSU, Rice and Sam Houston State.
More details of each tournament will be published when details become available.
Corbelli returns 10 letterwinners, including five starters ?- setter Kristen Schevikhoven, outside hitters Sarah Ammerman and Mary Batis, middle blocker Jillian Phillips and right-side hitter Kelsey Bryant ?- from last year?â„¢s team that went 21-10 and narrowly missed out on a trip to the NCAA Championships.
In addition, Corbelli welcomes four newcomers, who will be making their A&M debut. Freshmen outside hitters Kelsey Black (Amarillo High School) and Chelsea Ringel (Arlington Martin), as well as freshman middle blocker Stephanie Minnerly (Arlington Martin) all graduated high school in December and enrolled at A&M in January. Also, sophomore setter/defensive specialist Dylan Faulkner (Austin, Texas) transferred to A&M after playing her freshman season at Wake Forest.
The following is A&M?â„¢s complete spring schedule:
Date Day Tournament Location Time
March 20 Thurs. at Rice Houston, Texas 4 p.m.
April 5 Sat. Texas A&M Spring Tourney College Station, Texas all day
April 12 Sat. at Texas Tornados Tourney Houston, Texas all day
April 19 Sat. at Houston Tourney Houston, Texas all day