Volleyball Competes at F.A.S.T Tournament in Houston

Texas A&M vs. Baylor, 8 a.m.
Texas A&M vs. Texas State, 9 a.m.
Saturday, April 14
Fast Complex, Houston, Texas
 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M volleyball team closes out its spring competition slate Saturday, playing two matches at the annual F.A.S.T. Collegiate Invitational at the F.A.S.T. Complex in Houston.
               
The Aggies take on Baylor at 8 a.m. and Texas State at 9 a.m. on Court 3. Matches will be two sets each.
 
"I'm excited to see our team at our last spring competition against a really solid Baylor team and also Texas State," said Laura "Bird" Kuhn, who is in her first year as head coach of the Aggies. "Both matches will present different challenges, and that will be cool to see while measuring our team. Not only playing against the different styles, but the quick turnaround with back-to-back matches, even the time of day and the atmosphere, all of that will be good for us because it will be a different challenge for the team and it will be nice for us to see and gauge."
 
The Aggies, who went 10-15 last year, have nine returning letterwinners and a redshirt transfer on the roster, as well as four freshmen who graduated high school early and enrolled at Texas A&M for the spring semester. Most recently, A&M dropped a competitive four-set match at Texas on April 8.
 
"I've been most pleased with how the team has been so receptive even though the learning curve might be rather steep right now," Kuhn said. "I love their energy, and they are now catching on and getting more comfortable with our style and what we are training ball control-wise and system-wise, so the competition of 6-on-6 during practice has been really fun the last couple of days."
 
Baylor, No. 21 in last season's final AVCA Top 25 Poll, was the No. 12 seed in the 2017 NCAA tournament. The Bears, playing in back-to-back NCAA tournaments for the first time in school history, advanced to the second round and finished 24-7.
 
Texas State went 25-10 after advancing to the second round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship. Prior to the spring semester, the Bobcats added transfer setter Cheyenne Huskey, who last season was a sophomore for NCAA runner-up and Southeastern Conference co-champion Florida.  
 
Other teams competing in the one-day tournament are Houston, Incarnate Word, Louisiana, LSU, Louisiana Tech, McNeese State, Northwestern State, Rice, Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, Texas Southern, Tulane, Texas and UTSA.
 
The F.A.S.T. Complex is located at 15400 Hempstead Road. Admission is cash only, $12 for adults and $10 for students and senior citizens. For additional information, please visit www.fastcomplex.com.
 
Although the F.A.S.T. tournament marks the end of the Aggies' spring competition schedule, Texas A&M will continue practicing through April 25. After taking a break for finals, the team will reconvene for two days of practice on May 9-10 before heading off on a 12-day foreign training tour to Europe on May 11.
 
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.