Spring Break
Aggie volleyball gets swept at Bluejay Invitational
By: Michael Teague
Issue date: 8/29/08 Section: News
Texas A&M's early struggles extended past the football field this weekend. The Aggie volleyball team dropped their first three games of 2008 at the Bluejay Invitational tournament in Omaha, Neb.
"The only thing good that can come out of this weekend is that we really figure out what is missing and fix it quick," Texas A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli told Aggieathletics.com. "It has definitely been a learning experience, and we must learn from it."
In their first game of the season, the Aggies lost 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-17, 20-18) to No. 21 LSU. However the Tigers had to survive five match points to pull off the victory in the fifth set.
Although the match was highly competitive, Texas A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli was not impressed with her team's performance.
"For some reason, most of our team really didn't play maybe even 25 percent of their ability," Corbelli said, "and that is probably the hardest part to watch."
Junior Mary Batis was an exception as she posted 20 kills and matched her career-high in digs with 21.
"It was really Mary against LSU for the most part," Corbelli said.
In their first collegiate matches, freshmen Chelsea Ringel and Kristen Schevikhoven also contributed with each scoring 15 digs. The loss was the first by the Aggies in a season-opener since falling to No. 5 Hawaii in 2000.
Next, A&M hooked up with No. 16 Minnesota for the first of two matches Saturday. The Aggies came out on the losing end again as the Golden Gophers won 3-1 (25-18, 25-13, 23-25, 25-22).
Once again, Batis led the team with 15 kills and 16 digs. After struggling in the opener, middle blockers Jillian Phillips and Darla Donaldson rebounded against Minnesota adding a combined 22 kills.
To close out the tournament, the Aggie volleyball team finished Saturday night against host Creighton. A&M would fall to the Bluejays 0-3 (25-20, 25-21, 25-14) in their most disappointing match of the weekend.
After losing their first two matches, Creighton came out strong against A&M leading the entire first set. A competitive second set was wiped from memory after the Aggies were blown away in the final set. The Bluejays opened things up with a 6-point run from which A&M could not recover. Creighton hit .400 in the third set to claim their first victory of the season.
Batis continued her excellent defensive play with 15 digs but struggled offensively with only 6 kills against 7 errors.
Corbelli remained poised after the disappointing weekend in Omaha.
"I know this team is a very dedicated and committed group," she said. "So we are going to be able to come out of an unexpected, poor performance for the weekend and make some big changes and turn it around."
This weekend, the Aggies will return to College Station to host the Texas A&M Invitational tournament. The first home-match of the year will be against American (2-1) Friday night at G. Rollie White Coliseum. A&M will also host matches against No. 20 BYU (3-0) and Siena (0-2) Saturday.
"The only thing good that can come out of this weekend is that we really figure out what is missing and fix it quick," Texas A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli told Aggieathletics.com. "It has definitely been a learning experience, and we must learn from it."
In their first game of the season, the Aggies lost 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-17, 20-18) to No. 21 LSU. However the Tigers had to survive five match points to pull off the victory in the fifth set.
Although the match was highly competitive, Texas A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli was not impressed with her team's performance.
"For some reason, most of our team really didn't play maybe even 25 percent of their ability," Corbelli said, "and that is probably the hardest part to watch."
Junior Mary Batis was an exception as she posted 20 kills and matched her career-high in digs with 21.
"It was really Mary against LSU for the most part," Corbelli said.
In their first collegiate matches, freshmen Chelsea Ringel and Kristen Schevikhoven also contributed with each scoring 15 digs. The loss was the first by the Aggies in a season-opener since falling to No. 5 Hawaii in 2000.
Next, A&M hooked up with No. 16 Minnesota for the first of two matches Saturday. The Aggies came out on the losing end again as the Golden Gophers won 3-1 (25-18, 25-13, 23-25, 25-22).
Once again, Batis led the team with 15 kills and 16 digs. After struggling in the opener, middle blockers Jillian Phillips and Darla Donaldson rebounded against Minnesota adding a combined 22 kills.
To close out the tournament, the Aggie volleyball team finished Saturday night against host Creighton. A&M would fall to the Bluejays 0-3 (25-20, 25-21, 25-14) in their most disappointing match of the weekend.
After losing their first two matches, Creighton came out strong against A&M leading the entire first set. A competitive second set was wiped from memory after the Aggies were blown away in the final set. The Bluejays opened things up with a 6-point run from which A&M could not recover. Creighton hit .400 in the third set to claim their first victory of the season.
Batis continued her excellent defensive play with 15 digs but struggled offensively with only 6 kills against 7 errors.
Corbelli remained poised after the disappointing weekend in Omaha.
"I know this team is a very dedicated and committed group," she said. "So we are going to be able to come out of an unexpected, poor performance for the weekend and make some big changes and turn it around."
This weekend, the Aggies will return to College Station to host the Texas A&M Invitational tournament. The first home-match of the year will be against American (2-1) Friday night at G. Rollie White Coliseum. A&M will also host matches against No. 20 BYU (3-0) and Siena (0-2) Saturday.
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