COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M volleyball team opens its spring competition season Saturday with a pair of matches at Rice University's Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston. The Aggies will take on TCU at 1 p.m. and then return to the court at 3:30 p.m. to face Rice.
"Our spring training has been challenging and intense, and I have seen tremendous growth in our team," Texas A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli said. "Although we are extremely young, we have a group of players with positive attitudes who are passionate about volleyball and ready to take on our next challenge. This weekend at Rice will provide an opportunity for us to evaluate an entirely new look with our lineup. Because competition and training offer such different perspectives, this weekend will give this new lineup a chance to show its progress in a very competitive setting."
Corbelli returns 13 letterwinners from last year's team that went 21-9 and advanced to the NCAA tournament for a sixth consecutive year. She also returns one redshirt freshman.
Among the returners are four starters, including honorable mention All-American middle blocker and All-SEC Team selection Kaitlyn Blake, as well as outside hitters Kiara McGee, a PrepVolleyball.com Honorable Mention All-American, and Hollann Hans, the 2016 AVCA All-South Region Freshman of the Year. Corbelli also returns three-year staring opposite hitter Ashlie Reasor and libero Amy Nettles, who holds the school career record for digs in SEC matches with 722 and ranks 15th in the A&M all-time career records with 1,113 digs.
Corbelli will be looking to fill the loss of five seniors from last year's team, including four-year starting middle blocker and two-time All-American Jazzmin Babers, who completed her stellar career as the program's all-time career record holder in total blocks and block assists. Corbelli must also replace the school's first three-time AVCA All-American, setter Stephanie Aiple, who applied for a medical exemption and will forego her senior season.
TCU returns 11 letterwinners from last year's team that finished 15-13 after falling to top-seeded Nebraska in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Rice, coached former Aggie volleyball standout by Genny (Wood) Volpe, Texas A&M Class of '95, returns 10 letterwinners, including five starters from last year's squad that finished 20-12 after falling to No. 20 Western Kentucky in the Conference USA Tournament championship match.
Saturday's tournament will be the first of two events the Aggies will compete in this spring. Texas A&M returns to Houston on Saturday, April 8, to compete in the FAST Collegiate Invitational at the FAST Complex (15400 Hempstead Road).
Other teams participating in the one-day FAST tournament are Baylor, Houston, Louisiana, Louisiana Tech, LSU, McNeese, Northwestern State, Oklahoma, Prairie View A&M, Rice, Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, Texas, Texas-Rio Grande Valley, Texas-San Antonio, Texas Southern and Texas State.
Times and opponents at the FAST tournament are to be announced.
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 by following @AggieVolleyball.
"Our spring training has been challenging and intense, and I have seen tremendous growth in our team," Texas A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli said. "Although we are extremely young, we have a group of players with positive attitudes who are passionate about volleyball and ready to take on our next challenge. This weekend at Rice will provide an opportunity for us to evaluate an entirely new look with our lineup. Because competition and training offer such different perspectives, this weekend will give this new lineup a chance to show its progress in a very competitive setting."
Corbelli returns 13 letterwinners from last year's team that went 21-9 and advanced to the NCAA tournament for a sixth consecutive year. She also returns one redshirt freshman.
Among the returners are four starters, including honorable mention All-American middle blocker and All-SEC Team selection Kaitlyn Blake, as well as outside hitters Kiara McGee, a PrepVolleyball.com Honorable Mention All-American, and Hollann Hans, the 2016 AVCA All-South Region Freshman of the Year. Corbelli also returns three-year staring opposite hitter Ashlie Reasor and libero Amy Nettles, who holds the school career record for digs in SEC matches with 722 and ranks 15th in the A&M all-time career records with 1,113 digs.
Corbelli will be looking to fill the loss of five seniors from last year's team, including four-year starting middle blocker and two-time All-American Jazzmin Babers, who completed her stellar career as the program's all-time career record holder in total blocks and block assists. Corbelli must also replace the school's first three-time AVCA All-American, setter Stephanie Aiple, who applied for a medical exemption and will forego her senior season.
TCU returns 11 letterwinners from last year's team that finished 15-13 after falling to top-seeded Nebraska in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Rice, coached former Aggie volleyball standout by Genny (Wood) Volpe, Texas A&M Class of '95, returns 10 letterwinners, including five starters from last year's squad that finished 20-12 after falling to No. 20 Western Kentucky in the Conference USA Tournament championship match.
Saturday's tournament will be the first of two events the Aggies will compete in this spring. Texas A&M returns to Houston on Saturday, April 8, to compete in the FAST Collegiate Invitational at the FAST Complex (15400 Hempstead Road).
Other teams participating in the one-day FAST tournament are Baylor, Houston, Louisiana, Louisiana Tech, LSU, McNeese, Northwestern State, Oklahoma, Prairie View A&M, Rice, Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, Texas, Texas-Rio Grande Valley, Texas-San Antonio, Texas Southern and Texas State.
Times and opponents at the FAST tournament are to be announced.
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 by following @AggieVolleyball.