Texas A&M Invite Up Next For BYU

PROVO -- Coming off a title in the BYU Molten Classic, the Cougar women’s volleyball team will hit the road for the first time in 2008 this weekend, playing at the Texas A&M Invitational Friday and Saturday.

The 3-0 Cougars will face Siena on Friday at 4:30 p.m. CT (3:30 p.m. MT) before taking on American Saturday at 9:30 a.m. CT (8:30 a.m. MT) and the host Aggies at 6:30 p.m. CT (5:30 p.m. MT). All three matches will be available on BYU Radio.

“I expect this weekend to be another great test for us,” said BYU head coach Shay Goulding. “We did an excellent job defending the Fieldhouse last weekend, but now it is time to be tested on the road. We will be facing some very talented teams so we must take it one match at a time.”

The Cougars did indeed defend the Smith Fieldhouse last weekend, taking home the Molten Classic crown with wins over Utah State, Tulane and Missouri. Several newcomers shined for BYU in their respective Cougar debuts as freshman Malia Marquardt and junior transfers Morgan Lloyd (Salt Lake CC) and Kayla Walker (Pepperdine) announced their presence on the BYU volleyball scene.

Senior outside hitter Bryn Porter earned Molten Classic MVP and Mountain West Conference Player of the Week accolades as she led BYU with 3.67 kills per set while also tallying 2.33 dps and 1.17 bps. Marquardt was named to the All-Tournament Team. Junior middle blocker Ashton Hansen Hosford was also a crucial part of the Cougars’ success as she posted 2.25 blocks per set on the weekend.

The Texas A&M Aggies got off to a rougher start to the 2008 season, going 0-3 last weekend with losses to No. 21 LSU, No. 16 Minnesota and Creighton. Siena began the season going 0-2 with defeats against Hofstra and Seton Hall. American had a more successful opening weekend, bouncing back from a season-opening loss against George Washington with victories over Georgetown and George Mason to open the year 2-1.

In addition to a live Internet audio stream of all three matches on BYU Radio, live stats will also be available. The BYU vs. Texas A&M match on Saturday night will also be shown via a live Internet video stream. Links to all of these options can be found by going to the schedule page of the BYU women’s volleyball homepage at http://www.byucougars.com/volleyball_w/.

Fans can join the official BYU Women’s Volleyball Texting Group by texting “WVB” to 83043. Members of the group will get updates about game times and special promotions.