A New Era of Aggie Volleyball Begins With Season Opener

COLLEGE STATION – A new era of Texas A&M volleyball begins this weekend when the Aggies open the 2018 season against Ohio at the Sports Imports D.C. Koehl Classic at Ohio State. The Aggies will be under new leadership for the first time in 25 years and only the sixth time in program history as Laura "Bird" Kuhn begins her head coaching career.
 
Kuhn and the Aggies make their debut Friday against the Ohio Bobcats at 3 p.m. (4 p.m. ET) at St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio. A&M returns to the court Saturday to face the Albany Great Danes at 9 a.m. (10 a.m. ET) and then closes out the tournament that evening in the feature match against host Ohio State at 7 p.m. (8 p.m. ET).
 
TEXAS A&M NOTES

• Texas A&M returns eight letterwinners from last year's team that went 10-15.
• Seven of the returners have starting experience, including junior outside hitter Hollann Hans, a 2018 Preseason All-SEC Team selection, and sophomore setter Camille Conner, who started all 25 matches and played in every set last year.
• Others returning with starting experience are pin hitters Samantha Sanders and Maddie Douglas, middle blockers Makena Patterson and Morgan Davis and libero/defensive specialist and lone senior Amy Houser, who serves as team captain.
• Also returning is junior defensive specialist/setter Haley Slocum, as well as outside hitter Brookah Palmer, a redshirt junior who trained with the Aggies last season but sat out the year due to NCAA transfer rules.
• Freshmen London Austin-Roark, Kaitlyn Rogers and Mallory Talbert enrolled at Texas A&M in January and gained valuable experience by participating in the Aggies' spring drills as well as competing during the team's trip to Europe.
• Several other new faces will be donning the maroon and white for the first time this fall, including middle blocker/opposite hitter Sydnye Fields, a redshirt-junior transfer from the University of North Carolina, as well as freshmen Allison Fields, Sydney Little, Skylar Scott and Taylor Voss.
• The entire coaching staff also is new. First-year head coach Laura "Bird" Kuhn will be joined on the sidelines by associate head coach Kolby O'Donnell, formerly an assistant at Louisville, and assistant coach Wendel Camargo, formerly an assistant at James Madison. In addition, former three-time SEC Libero of the Year Ashley Dusek, who graduated from Kentucky in May, joins the staff as a volunteer assistant coach.
• The Aggies must replace four key players from last season: starting outside hitter Kiara McGee, starting middle blocker Kaitlyn Blake, libero Amy Nettles and defensive specialist Gabby Litwin.

 
SEASON OPENER NOTES

• Texas A&M is 31-11 in season openers since 1976.
• The Aggies have won their season opener seven of the last eight years, with the one loss being at No. 2 Stanford to open the 2015 season.
• Last year, A&M swept Sam Houston State, 25-20, 25-19, 25-22, en route to winning the Texas A&M Invitational championship.

 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
OHIO

• Ohio is favored to win the Mid-American Conference regular season as well as the 2018 MAC Volleyball Championship crown, according to a preseason poll of the league's head coaches.
• The Bobcats return all six starters plus the libero from last year's team that went 17-15 and finished third in the MAC East Division with a 10-6 record.
• Junior outside hitter Lizzie Stephens, sophomore setter Vera Giacomazzi and middle blocker Tia Jimerson were named to the seven-member Preseason All-MAC Team, East Division.
• Stephens earned All-MAC first-team honors last year after leading the MAC and ranking 66th in the country with a career-high 443 kills (3.63 per set). She posted double-digit kills 25 times -- including 20 or more three times. Stephens also led the MAC and ranked fifth in the nation with 60 service aces, the most in program history in the rally scoring era.
• Giacomazzi averaged 10.56 assists per set in her 2017 freshman campaign, earning MAC Setter of the Year and All-MAC first-team honors, as well as a spot on the MAC All-Freshman Team.
• Jimerson earned MAC Freshman of the Year and All-MAC first-team honors as well as a spot on the MAC All-Freshman Team. She led the team and ranked fourth in the MAC and 59th in the country with a .358 attack percentage (409 kills-112 errors-829 total attacks).
• Deane Webb (Mary Hardin-Baylor '95) is 79-41 in his fifth season as head coach of the Bobcats.

 
ALBANY

• Albany, the defending America East regular-season champion, is predicted to repeat as conference champion in 2018, according to a preseason poll of the league's coaches.
• The Great Danes, who open their 2018 campaign against Ohio State in the Friday nightcap, went 11-15 overall last year and won the final 10 America East regular-season matches to finish 11-1 in conference play.
• Albany made its first postseason appearance since 2011 with a berth into the National Invitational Volleyball Classic (NIVC). The Great Danes fell to Syracuse, 3-1, in the opening round of the NIVC.
• Albany returns four starters plus the libero from last year's team.
• Highlighting the list of returners are three all-conference selections: senior libero Nicole Otero, who earned her second America East Defensive Specialist of the Year honor, and redshirt junior hitter Akuabata Okenwa, who joined Otero on the all-conference first team, as well as junior setter Kelly Cameron, who earned second-team honors.
• MJ Engstrom is 165-121 in 10 years as the head coach of the Great Danes and 246-230 entering the 18th year of her head coaching career.

 
OHIO STATE

• The Buckeyes return three starters plus the libero from last year's team that went 17-15 overall and finished ninth in the Big Ten with an 8-12 record.
• They will be looking to replace right side hitter Ashley Wenz, who earned AVCA All-America honorable mention after averaging 3.03 kills per set and a team-leading 3.57 points per set, as well as outside hitter Luisa Schimer, who earned All-Northeast Region honorable mention after leading the Buckeyes with 3.20 kills per set.
• Top returners include sophomore libero Hannah Gruensfelder, who set a school single-season record with 4.34 digs per set, and sophomore middle blocker Lauren Witte, who led the Buckeyes and ranked ninth in the Big Ten with 1.01 blocks per set.
• Geoff Carlston is 208-133 entering his 11th season as head coach at Ohio State and 352-154 entering the 16th year of his head coaching career.

 
SERIES HISTORY
VS. OHIO

• The all-time series between the Aggies and the Bobcats is tied at 1-1.
• The teams most recently met at the 2014 Baymont Inn & Suites Invitational, hosted by Ohio in Athens. The Aggies opened the tournament by sweeping the Bobcats, 25-23, 25-20, 26-24, on Sept. 5 and went on to go 3-0 en route to the tournament title.
• The teams first met at the 2010 Missouri State JCQ Invitational in Springfield, Missouri, on Sept. 4, 2010. The Aggies closed out the tournament with a 29-27, 25-18, 15-25, 26-24 loss to Ohio.

 
VS. ALBANY

• Texas A&M and Albany will be meeting for the first time.

 
VS. OHIO STATE

• Ohio State holds a 3-2 lead in the all-time series against Texas A&M, including a 1-0 record in matches played in Columbus.
• The teams most recently met at the 2016 North Texas Challenge in Denton, Texas, where the 15th-ranked Buckeyes held off the No. 16 Aggies, 21-25, 32-30, 21-25, 25-18, 15-13, on Aug. 27, 2016.
• A&M's most recent victory was in 1988, as the Aggies defeated the Buckeyes, 15-7, 15-11, 7-15, 15-10, at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
• The only previous meeting in Columbus was Dec. 3, 1994, with the fourth-ranked Buckeyes defeating A&M, 3-0 (15-6, 15-13, 15-10) in the second round of the NCAA Championship.

 
UPCOMING SCHEDULE

• Texas A&M stays on the road next weekend as the Aggies compete in the Penn State Classic, Aug. 31-Sept. 1 in State College, Pennsylvania.
• The Aggies open the tournament against Indiana on Aug. 31 at 4 p.m. (CT). On Sept. 1, they will take on both Temple and No. 6 Penn State at 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., respectively, to close out the tournament.
• The Aggies make their home debut at the Texas A&M Invitational, Sept. 6-7, at Reed Arena. Other teams competing in the tournament are Pepperdine, Nicholls and Missouri State.

 
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