Sept. 4, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Texas A&M volleyball team makes its first road trip of the season as the Aggies head to Northern California to face Saint Mary's College on Saturday in Moraga, Calif., and the University of San Francisco Sunday in San Francisco. Both opponents are members of the West Coast Conference, were NCAA tournament participants in 2008, and received votes in the AVCA preseason Top 25 poll.
First serve against the Gaels is 7 p.m. (9 p.m. CDT) at McKeon Pavilion. Live video is available for a fee at http://www.smcgaels.com/liveEvents/liveEvents.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=21400.
The match against San Francisco is a homecoming of sorts for Aggie coach Laurie Corbelli, a 1988 graduate of USF who began her college coaching career with the Dons back in 1986. First serve against her former team is slated for 5 p.m. (7 p.m. CDT).
The Aggies are 3-0 after christening their new home, Reed Arena, by capturing the championship trophy at their own Texas A&M Invitational last weekend.
In the first-ever match to be played at Reed Arena, senior outside hitter Mary Batis posted 21 kills while hitting a career-high .667 to lead the Aggies to a 3-0 victory over Iona last Friday. Senior right-side hitter Jennifer Banse followed with a 15-kill performance while hitting at a .652 clip in A&M's 3-0 victory over Virginia. And in Saturday's match to determine the champion, senior outside hitter Sarah Ammerman took match-high honors with 19 kills as the Aggies came back after dropping the first set to defeat Northern Iowa, 3-1.
Batis garnered tournament MVP honors and went on to be tabbed National Player of the Week by CVU.com. Ammerman and Banse joined Batis on the all-tournament team, and freshman middle blocker Alisia Kastmo received Big 12 Rookie of the Week accolades after hitting .700, posting 14 kills with zero errors in 20 attack attempts in the three matches.
A LOOK AT THE OPPOSITION:
Saint Mary's
• The Gaels, who went 2-1 and took third place at the Marriott Courtyard/Fairfield Invitational last weekend in Reno, Nev., open their 2009 home slate against the Aggies. SMC went 6-3 in home matches last year.
• SMC opened its season with a 3-1 victory over Connecticut and then fell to No. 6 California, 3-1. The Gaels rebounded and closed out the tournament with a 3-0 sweep against host Nevada.
• Senior libero Alita Fisher was named to the all-tournament squad after averaging 4.36 digs per set. She had 21 digs against Cal.
• SMC has been picked to finish third in the West Coast Conference, according to a preseason poll of the league coaches. San Diego was picked to finish first, and Pepperdine finished one point ahead of SMC in the voting to take second.
• Senior middle blocker Megan Burton, junior middle blocker Shannon Lowell and junior setter Kapua Kamana'o were selected to the 2009 Preseason All-WCC Team, giving SMC the largest representation of all WCC schools.
• The Gaels went 20-8 last year after falling to New Mexico State in the first round of the NCAA Championships. The 20 wins marked the second most wins in school history.
• Rob Browning (BYU `90) is in his fifth season as head coach of the Gaels. Browning, who served as assistant coach for the USA Olympic Men's Volleyball Team that won a gold medal at the 2008 Games, is 67-46 entering the match against the Aggies.
San Francisco
• The Dons welcome San Diego State, Cal State Northridge and Rice to the Asics Challenge Friday and Saturday at War Memorial Gym before hosting the Aggies on Sunday.
• USF went 1-2 at the season-opening Oregon Tournament last weekend in Eugene, Ore., falling to the 14th-ranked Ducks, 3-0, and then dropping a 3-2 decision to Missouri State before getting a 3-0 victory over Eastern Washington in the tournament finale.
• Junior opposite Sarah Mandala was named to the all-tournament team last weekend after leading the Dons with 4.36 kills per set. Mandala went off against Missouri State, posting 28 kills in the loss.
• Mandala was is a preseason All-WCC selection after earning first-team honors in 2008. She led the Dons with 3.62 kills per set last season. Senior libero Haley Carroll also was named to the preseason team.
• USF was picked to finish fifth in the West Coast Conference, according to a preseason vote of the league coaches. Last year, the Dons placed second in the WCC with an 11-3 record and received an at-large berth to the NCAA Championships.
• Freshman outside hitter Alycia Cox is from San Antonio and attended Churchill High School, which also produced Texas A&M senior right-side hitter Jennifer Banse.
• Gilad Doron (Temple, `00) is 41-25 in his third season as head coach at USF.
SERIES RECORDS
• A&M is a combined 3-0 against Saint Mary's and San Francisco.
• A&M is 1-0 against Saint Mary's. In the only meeting between the teams, A&M defeated SMC, 3-0 (30-24, 30-25, 30-23) on Sept. 2, 2005, at the Texas A&M/McDonald's Invitational at G. Rollie White Coliseum in College Station.
• A&M is 2-0 against the Dons but has not played USF since 1988, when current Aggie coach Laurie Corbelli was the head coach of the Dons. A&M defeated Corbelli's team, 3-0 (15-12, 15-7, 15-12) on Sept. 22, 1988, at War Memorial Gym.
• In the only other meeting between the Aggies and the Dons, A&M won 3-0 (15-7, 15-4, 15-13 on Oct. 1, 1981, in Berkeley, Calif.
• Corbelli is 13-4 all-time against Saint Mary's and 6-0 against San Francisco.
AGGIE QUICK HITS
• A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli began her coaching career at San Francisco in 1986 and amassed a 39-71 record in five years. Her 22 West Coast Conference wins still stands as a program high. In her second season, she was named the 1987 WCC Coach of the Year. She is the only USF coach to receive the honor in the history of the program.
• Senior outside hitter Mary Batis needs 24 kills to give her 1,197 career kills and move her into ninth in the A&M career records. She will pass former first-team All-American middle blocker Amber Woolsey (1995-99).
• Senior outside hitter Sarah Ammerman needs 12 kills to give her 1,137 and move her into 11th place in the career records. Amy Cumings (1987-90) is currently in 11th place.
• Senior setters Mary Batis and Jennifer Banse averaging 3.78 kps. In addition, the trio of outside hitters posted a .326 combined hitting percentage.
• Freshmen middle blockers Lindsey Miller and Alisia Kastmo are hitting a combined .490 and averaging 3.24 kills per set. Miller has started every match and played in every set, while Kastmo has come off the bench in every match and appeared in seven of 10 sets. Last week, Kastmo had 14 kills and zero errors in 20 attempts for a .700 hitting percentage to earn Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors.
• As a team, A&M is outhitting its opponents, .349 to .181, averaging 17.9 kills while holding opponents to 10.4 kills per set. A&M also is averaging 17.2 assists and 17.4 digs per set.
• The Aggie soccer team also is competing in Northern California this weekend, taking on California in Berkeley on Friday evening and then playing at Saint Mary's on Sunday at 11 a.m. The soccer team will be in attendance at War Memorial Gym when the Aggie volleyball team takes on San Francisco. The teams will be on the same red-eye flight back to Houston.
• A&M received votes in the first AVCA coaches poll of the regular season and is listed 28th. The Aggies are slated to play eight matches against teams ranked in the preseason Top 25: two matches each against No. 2 Texas, No. 6 Nebraska, No. 12 Iowa State and No. 23 Kansas State. In addition, A&M will play four matches against teams that received votes, two matches each against Big 12 opponents Baylor and Oklahoma.
• The Aggies, who went 11-9 to tie eventual NCAA-regional finalist Iowa State for fourth place in the Big 12 last year, have been picked to finish fourth in the league this season, according to a preseason poll of the conference coaches. Defending Big 12 co-champions Texas and Nebraska are picked to finish first and second, respectively, with Iowa State following at third place. A&M is followed by Baylor, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado and Texas Tech.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
The Aggies return to Reed Arena Tuesday, Sept. 8 to host an Italian National Team. First serve of the exhibition match is at 6:30 p.m. A&M then concludes the preconference schedule at the Texas State CenturyTel Premier on Sept. 11-12 in San Marcos, Texas. The Aggies face Hofstra, Texas Southern and Texas State during the two-day tournament.