DENVER, CO – Texas A&M (3-4) concludes its non-conference schedule this weekend as the Aggies compete in the University of Denver Pioneer Class, Friday and Saturday at Hamilton Gymnasium in Denver.

A&M opens the tournament with a pair of matches on Friday, taking on Jacksonville State at 12 p.m. (1 CDT) and returning to the court at 6 p.m. (7 CDT) to face host Denver in the Pioneers’ home opener.

A&M concludes the tournament on Saturday against Gonzaga at 4 p.m. (5 CDT). Notre Dame also is competing in the tournament but will not face the Aggies.

A tournament website with links to live scoring of all matches, as well as a link to a subscription-based video stream of Denver matches is located at: http://www.denverpioneers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=18600&ATCLID=204990177

Complete Tournament Schedule:
Friday, September 10 Time (MT)
Texas A&M vs. Jacksonville State 12 p.m.
Notre Dame vs. Gonzaga 4 p.m.
Texas A&M vs. Denver 6 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 11
Denver vs. Gonzaga 12 p.m.
Notre Dame vs. Jacksonville State 2 p.m.
Texas A&M vs. Gonzaga 4 p.m.
Denver vs. Jacksonville State 6 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 12
Jacksonville State vs. Gonzaga 11 a.m.
Denver vs. Notre Dame 1 p.m.

Texas A&M Notes:
• The Aggies are 3-4 on the year after going 1-2 at the Missouri State JQH Invitational last weekend in Springfield, Mo. A&M fell to the host Bears in the opener and then rallied to defeat North Carolina in five sets before dropping a 3-1 decision to Ohio to conclude the tournament.
• Junior outside hitter Kelsey Black received all-tournament honors for the second consecutive weekend and leads A&M with 4.27 kills and 5.29 points per set. The jump server also leads the team with 0.77 aces, having already twice tied the school single match record this season with six aces against both Sam Houston State and Pacific.
• Sophomore middle blocker Lindsey Miller is hitting a team-high .294, and sophomore middle blocker Stephanie Minnerly leads the Aggies with 0.96 blocks per set. Sophomore libero Tori Mellinger is tops in digs with 3.92 per set, and freshman setter Allie Sawatzky is averaging a team-best 9.38 assists per set.
• A&M is hitting .174 on the year and is averaging 12.46 kills, 11.54 assists, 1.77 aces, 13.73 digs and 1.88 blocks per set. Opponents are hitting .183 and averaging 11.46 kills, 10.54 assists, 0.62 aces, 14.23 digs and 2.04 blocks per set.
• The trip to Denver is a homecoming of sorts for Aggie freshman setter Allie Freiwald, who hails from Littleton, Colo., a suburb of Denver, and attended Mullen High School in the capital city.
• The tournament is A&M’s final tune-up for Big 12 Conference play, as the Aggies open league play by hosting No. 5 Texas on Thursday, Sept. 16 at Reed Arena. First serve is slated for 6:30 p.m.
• Laurie Corbelli (Univ. of San Francisco ’88) is 366-173 in her 18th season at the helm of the Aggies. She is 466-279 in the 25th season of her head coaching career.

A Look at the Opponents:
• Jacksonville State is 4-3 overall and has won three of its last four matches. The Gamecocks are coming off a 3-0 loss at Virginia Tech on Sept. 4, a match that determined the Hokie Invitational champion.
• Junior libero Lauren Harkins and senior middle blocker Caitlin Vorbeck earned all-tournament honors at the Hokie Invitational. Harkins also was named Ohio Valley Conference’s Defensive Player of the Week after averaging 6.9 digs per set at the tournament.
• Vorbeck leads JSU with 3.22 kills per set. Senior middle blocker Kara Slater is hitting a team-best .355 while averaging 2.65 kills per set.
• The Gamecocks return five starters plus the libero from last year’s team that went 27-8 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
• As a team, JSU is hitting .181 and averaging 12.74 kills, 11.78 assists, 1.61 aces, 15.70 digs, and 1.65 blocks per set. Opponents are hitting .147 and averaging 11.26 kills, 10.83 assists, 1.04 aces, 15.04 digs and 2.09 blocks per set.
• Freshman defensive specialist Kaleigh Harvey attended Cinco Ranch High School in Katy, Texas, and was teammates with Aggie sophomore middle blocker Lindsey Miller.
• Rick Nold (Louisville ‘98) is 160-87 in his ninth season as head coach at JSU.

• Denver, which is making its season home debut against the Aggies, is 4-4 and is looking to end a two-match losing skid after falling at St. John’s, 3-1, and dropping a 3-0 decision at Northern Colorado on Tuesday.
• Freshman middle hitter/outside hitter Brea Muhle leads the Pioneers with 2.71 kills per set and is hitting at a team-leading .284 clip. She also is averaging a team-high 1.04 blocks per set.
• As a team, the Pioneers are being outhit, .229 to .147. DU is averaging 11.46 kills, 10.86 assists, 1.71 aces, 12.68 digs and 2.11 blocks per set. Opponents are averaging 11.89 kills, 10.79 assists, 1.07 aces, 13.43 digs and 2.36 blocks per set.
• DU returns three starters from last year’s team that went 16-17 and placed third in the Sun Belt Conference West Division with an 11-7 record.
• Beth Kuwata (Univ. of Denver ’88) is 231-207 in her 15th season at the helm of the Pioneers.

• Gonzaga is 2-5 after losing its last three matches, including a 3-0 loss to No. 9 Washington in its most recent outing.
• The Bulldogs return four starters plus the libero from last year’s team that went 10-18 overall and placed sixth in the West Coast Conference with a 5-9 record.
• Schylur Edelman, a senior transfer from the University of Colorado, leads the Bulldogs with a .294 hitting percentage while averaging 1.80 kills per set. Senior middle blocker Caitlin Cozad leads Gonzaga starters with 2.6 kills and 0.80 blocks per set.
• As a team, the Bulldogs are being outhit, .217 to .126. Gonzaga is averaging 10.70 kills, 10.04 assists, 0.67 aces, 15.41 digs and 1.98 blocks per set. Opponents are averaging 13.63 kills, 12.67 assists, 1.26 aces, 17.52 digs and 2.44 blocks per set.
• Dave Gantt (Univ. of Great Falls ’78) is in his second season as head coach at Gonzaga.

Series Records:
A&M will be meeting each of the three teams for the first time in program history.

Upcoming Schedule: A&M hosts No. 5 Texas in its Big 12 Conference opener, Thursday, Sept. 16 at Reed Arena. Match time of the first edition of the State Farm Lone Star Showdown is 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $9 for reserved seating; $7 for adult general admission; and $4 for youth general admission. Children under 2 are admitted free in general admission sections. Single match and season tickets can be purchased at the Reed Arena entrance, online at AggieAthletics.com, or by calling 888-99-AGGIE. Also group rates are available by contacting the ticket office in advance.