COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Southeastern Conference-champion Texas A&M received an automatic berth to the 2015 NCAA Volleyball Championship and will host first and second rounds, Friday and Saturday at Reed Arena, the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Committee announced today.
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The Aggies (23-6, 16-2 SEC), the No. 10 seed in the 64-team tournament, play host to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (31-4) on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Reed Arena. The match follows another first-round match-up between Hawaii (26-1) and TCU (19-9) at 4:30 p.m. at Reed.
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The two first-round winners will meet in the second round, Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Reed, with the winner earning a berth into the Des Moines Regional, Dec. 11-12, at Wells Fargo Arena.
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All-session tickets for the first two rounds at Reed Arena will be available in advance at 12thManFoundation.com, during business hours at the 12th Man Foundation Ticket Office located in the north end of Kyle Field and on match day at Reed Arena beginning one hour before the match. Each day is a session and is ticketed accordingly. Prices are as follows:
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All-Session:
Reserved Adult: $16
General Admission-Adult: $12
General Admission-Student: $5
Free for children under age two
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Single Day:
Reserved Adult: $9
General Admission-Adult: $7
General Admission-Student: $3
Free for children under age two
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A&M, which enters the tournament riding a 14-match win streak and is 12-1 in home matches, is making its fifth consecutive and 23rd overall appearance in the NCAA tournament. This marks the Aggies' 19th appearance under 23rd-year head coach Laurie Corbelli.
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The Islanders earned their first NCAA berth by winning the Southland Tournament this past weekend.
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Hawaii, which won the national championship in 1982, 1983 and 1987, is the automatic qualifier from the Big West Conference and is making its 34th appearance overall.
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TCU received an at-large bid and is making its second NCAA appearance in program history.
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Texas A&M NCAA Tournament Notes: A&M is making its fifth consecutive and 23rd overall appearance (1981, '82, '85, '86, '93, '94, '95, '96, '97, '98,' 99, 2000, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '09, '11, '12, '13, '14, '15) since the inception of the tournament in 1981…A&M is 15-1 all-time in NCAA home matches, including 1-1 in NCAA matches played at Reed Arena…A&M last hosted NCAA tournament matches in 2011, defeating Lipscomb, 3-1, in the first round at Reed Arena and then falling to future SEC-foe Kentucky, 3-0, in the second round…Last year A&M fell to 22nd-ranked Arizona State, 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-26, 25-22) in the first round at Gregory Gym in Austin, where the Aggies were sent for a third consecutive year…A&M sports a 25-22 (.532) all-time record in the NCAA tournament, including a 23-18 (.561) mark during head coach Laurie Corbelli's A&M tenure...A&M's best finish in an NCAA tournament was a regional final appearance in both 1999 and 2001…The SEC landed four teams in the tournament field: No. 10 seed Texas A&M, No. 11 seed Florida, Kentucky and Missouri…The Aggies are 9-4 this year against teams in the NCAA tournament field.
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NCAA Tournament Notes: Thirty-two conferences were awarded automatic qualification, and the remaining 32 slots were filled with at-large selections to complete the bracket...The top 16 teams were seeded nationally and placed within four regions...Sixteen first-and second-round matches will be played Dec. 3-4 or 4-5 on the campuses of participating institutions...Winners will advance to four predetermined regional sites: Austin, Texas, Des Moines, Iowa, Lexington, Ky., or San Diego, Calif....The four regional winners will meet at the Final Four, to be held at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Neb., Dec. 17 and 19...Southern California is the No. 1 seed in the 64-team bracket, followed by No. 2 Minnesota, No. 3 Texas and No. 4 Nebraska…Penn State is the two-time defending national champion.
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For complete tournament bracket and information, visit the NCAA official Website at www.NCAAsports.com.
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Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M volleyball team on Facebook and on Twitter and Instagram by following @AggieVolleyball.Â
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Texas A&M Coach Laurie Corbelli quotes:
On hosting instead of going to Austin for a fourth consecutive year...
"It's just nice to have a change. We have been going there for the last three years. The seniors that we have that have been contributing so much, that's the only place they have known for NCAA's. This will be their first trip, if we can get past the first and second rounds, to be able to get on the road. But the most important thing is getting the wins at home."
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On if she thought the second weekend might be in Austin and if she is glad the Aggies won't be going there this year…
"It wouldn't have mattered to me honestly. It's close and it's the Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight round and we aren't picky at that point. We just want to advance. Families could have come a lot easier. So there are some positives to be getting in that regional. But at the same time, we are just really happy we got a seed and we get to host and we get to have the 12th Man there to support us."
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On being the No. 10 seed…
"Oh my gosh, a top-10 seed at the NCAA national tournament, it's a first for our program. I just sat there thinking this is real. It's so deserved by this group of players. I don't mean to dismiss the coaching at all, but this group of players is really special and they play for each other in the truest sense of that phrase. It amazes me each time they get on the floor and they are behind, how they keep fighting back. For all the fight they have put in to get to where they are, I am just really, really proud of them and I think deserved it."
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On Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, TCU and Hawaii coming to Reed...
"That's a really familiar group. We had Corpus Christi in our tournament last season. We know some of the players on TCU, but we haven't seen them obviously live this year, but we know a lot of the players. We recruited a lot of the players. The Hawaii team, we are pretty familiar. From years ago maybe, but this particular team maybe not quite so much, but we know they are a very strong program, and yet whatever the committee uses to make their decisions, that's the way it fell. We have been there many times, and I have been telling the Hawaii coach, 'you owe me a visit to College Station.' Haven't been able to get them here, so if this is the only way to get them here, I am happy about it."
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On the importance of playing at home...
"When you travel so much, and all these teams know it, there are some benefits for sure if you can really take advantage of the time together, the team bonding, the whole friendship thing. But to be at home, and to be in familiar surroundings, the court, the routine--you know athletes are really big on routine-- and knowing the support of the 12th Man, and our fans have been out so wonderfully over the last few weeks especially, they have just grown over the season, I think it's just going to boost us. I think the team is just going to take it and really run with it. It's neat to be seeded for sure, and to get to be at home. It has been a while since we have gotten to be at home, so it makes it lots of fun."
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The Aggies (23-6, 16-2 SEC), the No. 10 seed in the 64-team tournament, play host to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (31-4) on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Reed Arena. The match follows another first-round match-up between Hawaii (26-1) and TCU (19-9) at 4:30 p.m. at Reed.
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The two first-round winners will meet in the second round, Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Reed, with the winner earning a berth into the Des Moines Regional, Dec. 11-12, at Wells Fargo Arena.
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All-session tickets for the first two rounds at Reed Arena will be available in advance at 12thManFoundation.com, during business hours at the 12th Man Foundation Ticket Office located in the north end of Kyle Field and on match day at Reed Arena beginning one hour before the match. Each day is a session and is ticketed accordingly. Prices are as follows:
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All-Session:
Reserved Adult: $16
General Admission-Adult: $12
General Admission-Student: $5
Free for children under age two
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Single Day:
Reserved Adult: $9
General Admission-Adult: $7
General Admission-Student: $3
Free for children under age two
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A&M, which enters the tournament riding a 14-match win streak and is 12-1 in home matches, is making its fifth consecutive and 23rd overall appearance in the NCAA tournament. This marks the Aggies' 19th appearance under 23rd-year head coach Laurie Corbelli.
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The Islanders earned their first NCAA berth by winning the Southland Tournament this past weekend.
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Hawaii, which won the national championship in 1982, 1983 and 1987, is the automatic qualifier from the Big West Conference and is making its 34th appearance overall.
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TCU received an at-large bid and is making its second NCAA appearance in program history.
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Texas A&M NCAA Tournament Notes: A&M is making its fifth consecutive and 23rd overall appearance (1981, '82, '85, '86, '93, '94, '95, '96, '97, '98,' 99, 2000, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '09, '11, '12, '13, '14, '15) since the inception of the tournament in 1981…A&M is 15-1 all-time in NCAA home matches, including 1-1 in NCAA matches played at Reed Arena…A&M last hosted NCAA tournament matches in 2011, defeating Lipscomb, 3-1, in the first round at Reed Arena and then falling to future SEC-foe Kentucky, 3-0, in the second round…Last year A&M fell to 22nd-ranked Arizona State, 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-26, 25-22) in the first round at Gregory Gym in Austin, where the Aggies were sent for a third consecutive year…A&M sports a 25-22 (.532) all-time record in the NCAA tournament, including a 23-18 (.561) mark during head coach Laurie Corbelli's A&M tenure...A&M's best finish in an NCAA tournament was a regional final appearance in both 1999 and 2001…The SEC landed four teams in the tournament field: No. 10 seed Texas A&M, No. 11 seed Florida, Kentucky and Missouri…The Aggies are 9-4 this year against teams in the NCAA tournament field.
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NCAA Tournament Notes: Thirty-two conferences were awarded automatic qualification, and the remaining 32 slots were filled with at-large selections to complete the bracket...The top 16 teams were seeded nationally and placed within four regions...Sixteen first-and second-round matches will be played Dec. 3-4 or 4-5 on the campuses of participating institutions...Winners will advance to four predetermined regional sites: Austin, Texas, Des Moines, Iowa, Lexington, Ky., or San Diego, Calif....The four regional winners will meet at the Final Four, to be held at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Neb., Dec. 17 and 19...Southern California is the No. 1 seed in the 64-team bracket, followed by No. 2 Minnesota, No. 3 Texas and No. 4 Nebraska…Penn State is the two-time defending national champion.
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For complete tournament bracket and information, visit the NCAA official Website at www.NCAAsports.com.
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Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M volleyball team on Facebook and on Twitter and Instagram by following @AggieVolleyball.Â
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Texas A&M Coach Laurie Corbelli quotes:
On hosting instead of going to Austin for a fourth consecutive year...
"It's just nice to have a change. We have been going there for the last three years. The seniors that we have that have been contributing so much, that's the only place they have known for NCAA's. This will be their first trip, if we can get past the first and second rounds, to be able to get on the road. But the most important thing is getting the wins at home."
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On if she thought the second weekend might be in Austin and if she is glad the Aggies won't be going there this year…
"It wouldn't have mattered to me honestly. It's close and it's the Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight round and we aren't picky at that point. We just want to advance. Families could have come a lot easier. So there are some positives to be getting in that regional. But at the same time, we are just really happy we got a seed and we get to host and we get to have the 12th Man there to support us."
Â
On being the No. 10 seed…
"Oh my gosh, a top-10 seed at the NCAA national tournament, it's a first for our program. I just sat there thinking this is real. It's so deserved by this group of players. I don't mean to dismiss the coaching at all, but this group of players is really special and they play for each other in the truest sense of that phrase. It amazes me each time they get on the floor and they are behind, how they keep fighting back. For all the fight they have put in to get to where they are, I am just really, really proud of them and I think deserved it."
Â
On Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, TCU and Hawaii coming to Reed...
"That's a really familiar group. We had Corpus Christi in our tournament last season. We know some of the players on TCU, but we haven't seen them obviously live this year, but we know a lot of the players. We recruited a lot of the players. The Hawaii team, we are pretty familiar. From years ago maybe, but this particular team maybe not quite so much, but we know they are a very strong program, and yet whatever the committee uses to make their decisions, that's the way it fell. We have been there many times, and I have been telling the Hawaii coach, 'you owe me a visit to College Station.' Haven't been able to get them here, so if this is the only way to get them here, I am happy about it."
Â
On the importance of playing at home...
"When you travel so much, and all these teams know it, there are some benefits for sure if you can really take advantage of the time together, the team bonding, the whole friendship thing. But to be at home, and to be in familiar surroundings, the court, the routine--you know athletes are really big on routine-- and knowing the support of the 12th Man, and our fans have been out so wonderfully over the last few weeks especially, they have just grown over the season, I think it's just going to boost us. I think the team is just going to take it and really run with it. It's neat to be seeded for sure, and to get to be at home. It has been a while since we have gotten to be at home, so it makes it lots of fun."
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