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COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M volleyball team plays its only exhibition match of the preseason on Saturday as the Aggies take on TCU in Fort Worth. The match will begin at 2 p.m. at the University Recreation Center, and admission is free.
The Aggies have been practicing since August 8, and Laurie Corbelli, who is entering her 25th season as head coach, is excited to have the opportunity to play an exhibition match before the official season opener against Sam Houston State on August 25.
"I love the idea that the NCAA gave us this opportunity to hold a scrimmage that doesn't count on our record," she said. "Like other sports, we can do a dry run and get on the floor before we start up a really important season. We are one of the sports that doesn't get a lot of hands-on time with the kids to get ready to compete, so I think this is really important. They get their jersey on. They get in front of people, and they see different people on the other side of the net and experience first-game jitters.
"And just for the match itself, it is going to be an opportunity to try all kinds of lineups. There will be a few caveats that will allow us to do a few more things than a normal match, but overall it will be similar."
Corbelli returns 11 letterwinners—including four starters plus the libero—from last year's team that went 21-9 overall and reached the NCAA Championship tournament for a sixth consecutive season. She also brought in a stellar four-member freshman class, ranked the 18th best recruiting class in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com, as well as a redshirt freshman and a transfer. The players have impressed Corbelli during the first two weeks of practice.
"The returners are really physical and doing some really, really nice things," Corbelli said. "The freshmen have done a beautiful job of meshing with the others, and I am seeing improvements daily. They are still freshmen, and the game is faster than they have ever seen. We hope they continue to come along quickly so that there is a contribution by a couple of them for sure. The setting position between Haley Slocum and Camille Conner is one that we are especially watching closely. They are both phenomenal people and working incredibly hard to be able to keep this program and this team at a high level.
"One of the best parts of our two-a-day practices this season has been that everyone is healthy. That is kind of a new thing for us, so we have been able to cover so many team-related things, team chemistry things, timing with your offense, reviewing so much of the details of our defense and defensive system. Overall, everybody starts and ends practice for the most part. It's the healthiest we have been in a long time, so that has been really nice to just be healthy and be able to progress like that."
TCU returns seven letterwinners from last year's team that finished 15-13 after advancing to the NCAA Championship second round before falling to Nebraska. Third-year head coach Jill Kramer also welcomes a freshman class that received a No. 24 national ranking.
Texas A&M and TCU have never met in an official match. The teams did face each other at Rice during the spring season, with the Aggies prevailing, 20-25, 25-22, 15-11.
Live stats of Saturday's match will be available at tamu.statbroadcast.com.
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.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M volleyball team plays its only exhibition match of the preseason on Saturday as the Aggies take on TCU in Fort Worth. The match will begin at 2 p.m. at the University Recreation Center, and admission is free.
The Aggies have been practicing since August 8, and Laurie Corbelli, who is entering her 25th season as head coach, is excited to have the opportunity to play an exhibition match before the official season opener against Sam Houston State on August 25.
"I love the idea that the NCAA gave us this opportunity to hold a scrimmage that doesn't count on our record," she said. "Like other sports, we can do a dry run and get on the floor before we start up a really important season. We are one of the sports that doesn't get a lot of hands-on time with the kids to get ready to compete, so I think this is really important. They get their jersey on. They get in front of people, and they see different people on the other side of the net and experience first-game jitters.
"And just for the match itself, it is going to be an opportunity to try all kinds of lineups. There will be a few caveats that will allow us to do a few more things than a normal match, but overall it will be similar."
Corbelli returns 11 letterwinners—including four starters plus the libero—from last year's team that went 21-9 overall and reached the NCAA Championship tournament for a sixth consecutive season. She also brought in a stellar four-member freshman class, ranked the 18th best recruiting class in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com, as well as a redshirt freshman and a transfer. The players have impressed Corbelli during the first two weeks of practice.
"The returners are really physical and doing some really, really nice things," Corbelli said. "The freshmen have done a beautiful job of meshing with the others, and I am seeing improvements daily. They are still freshmen, and the game is faster than they have ever seen. We hope they continue to come along quickly so that there is a contribution by a couple of them for sure. The setting position between Haley Slocum and Camille Conner is one that we are especially watching closely. They are both phenomenal people and working incredibly hard to be able to keep this program and this team at a high level.
"One of the best parts of our two-a-day practices this season has been that everyone is healthy. That is kind of a new thing for us, so we have been able to cover so many team-related things, team chemistry things, timing with your offense, reviewing so much of the details of our defense and defensive system. Overall, everybody starts and ends practice for the most part. It's the healthiest we have been in a long time, so that has been really nice to just be healthy and be able to progress like that."
TCU returns seven letterwinners from last year's team that finished 15-13 after advancing to the NCAA Championship second round before falling to Nebraska. Third-year head coach Jill Kramer also welcomes a freshman class that received a No. 24 national ranking.
Texas A&M and TCU have never met in an official match. The teams did face each other at Rice during the spring season, with the Aggies prevailing, 20-25, 25-22, 15-11.
Live stats of Saturday's match will be available at tamu.statbroadcast.com.
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.