April 3, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Texas A&M volleyball team plays its first of two spring tournaments Saturday as the Aggies compete in the 4th Annual Texas Tornados College Spring Tournament at the Texas Tornados Training Facility in Houston.
The Aggies will play four matches during the one-day tournament, opening against TCU at 8:30 a.m., followed by Denver at 10:30 a.m. and North Texas at 12:30 p.m. A&M closes out the tournament at 2:30 p.m. against Wichita State, which was No. 18 in the final American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 Poll after advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament last season.
"This is one of the top collegiate spring tournaments, and we are very eager to get on the court and be tested," A&M head volleyball coach Laurie Corbelli said. "We've been working a lot on the speed of our offense, on the accuracy of our defense, and just consistency and our all-around performance as individuals as well as a team. This spring is an ideal time to test ourselves on how those things have come along."
Corbelli returns nine letterwinners from last year's team that finished 16-14, including 11-9 in the Big 12, tying NCAA regional finalist and 12th-ranked Iowa State for fourth place in the conference standings. Included on the list of returners are starting outside hitters Sarah Ammerman, Jennifer Banse and Mary Batis, starting setter Kristen Schvikhoven, and Kelsey Black, who spent most of the 2008 season as the designated libero.
With Stephanie Minnerly, who appeared in only two sets as a freshman, being the only middle blocker on the spring roster, the Aggies will have to improvise until three high school signees, all middle blockers, join the team in August.
"Although most of our middles were lost to graduation, we do have Mary Batis, who have been spotting in the middle for us during practice," Corbelli said. "They both have been middles in their club or high school teams and have a sense for it, but obviously we are not expecting them to playing at that position during the fall.
"Most of the time in the spring season, many teams are using makeshift lineups and trying out new things, so it is not unusual. It's just really a very generous and unselfish thing for them to do. It has taken some time away from their left-side attacking, but it also has made them work on their speed and other things that the middle demands from their game, and so overall we've helped them keep perspective on it."
The Aggies conclude the spring season April 18 at the Baylor Spring Tournament in Waco.
Spring matches are considered exhibition, and results do not count toward a team's record. Matches at the Tornados Tournament will consist of best two-out-of-three sets with the first two sets played to 25 points and the third set going to 15 points.
For a complete schedule and a list of participating teams in the Tornados College Spring Tournament, in addition to ticket information and directions to the facility go to: http://www.texastornados.org/Facility/Default.aspx.