AGGIES RELEASE 2009 VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE

[krazykev]

GREENSBORO, July 6, 2009 – The North Carolina A&T volleyball team has quite a few challenges ahead for the 2009 season. The Aggies want to restore the program’s winning tradition. They want to return to the MEAC Tournament after not qualifying last season, and they will be facing some of the biggest programs in the nation in the process.

The Aggies will face Indiana, Georgia State, Western Michigan and Ohio State during the season. In addition, the Aggies will be a part of five regular-season tournaments, starting with the season opener in the William and Mary Tribe Invitational. N.C. A&T will open against MEAC Tournament runner-up Maryland-Eastern Shore at the Tribe Invitational on August 28 at noon in Williamsburg, Va.

Ohio State and Rider are also in the season-opening invitational. The Aggies will then compete in Georgia State’s tournament from Sept. 4-5. The teams include Kennesaw State, Presbyterian, Louisiana-Monroe, Nichols State, Rider and Alabama A&M.

Following the GSU Tournament, the Aggies will play their first home game of the season when they invite Marshall University to Corbett Sports Center Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. Ten days later the Aggies compete in the University of Indiana’s Tournament, which includes Western Michigan, Alabama A&M and UNC Wilmington.

After playing in N.C. Central’s tournament Sept. 25-26 and following a contest at Davidson on Sept. 29, the Aggies return home to play cross-town rival UNC Greensboro Sept. 30 at 6 p.m. The Aggies other non-conference home dates include a match vs. High Point on Oct. 6. NCCU comes to Corbett on Oct. 20; Winston-Salem comes on Nov. 6 and Elon plays there on Nov. 10. All the game times are at 6 p.m.

The first conference game of the season is on the road against Norfolk State on Oct. 9. The Aggies will play another seven conference games, including four at home, in an attempt to qualify for the MEAC Tournament. The top four teams from each MEAC Division – North and South – earn a berth in the tournament. A 2-6 record in the conference in 2008 placed the Aggies fifth in the MEAC South.

“For us to get back to the tournament it will take six players on the court being on at the same time,’’ said interim head coach Arlene Mitchell. “We can’t have two on and the rest standing. We need players who will play hard for 3-to-5 sets.”


www.ncataggies.com/Volleyball/2009%20ARTICLES/09%20AGGIES%20SCHEDULE.htm

Roster
www.ncataggies.com/Volleyball/roster09.htm

[Bornthrilla]

Great! Looks like Arlene will be coaching the squad next year.

[Maxell]

..But she needs to find a JUCO 6-footer or two in the next three weeks. This is a short team.

[aggiejazz]

Man, this current roster is full of setter size players. Unless these ladies can jump like Michael Jordan, power hit like the late US Olympic player, Flo Hyman, and dig out spikes like the Chinese Olympic team, I don't see many wins for this team.

[Bornthrilla]

Looks like I celebrated too soon:



AGGIES HIRE AGGIE AS NEW VOLLEYBALL COACH
Conway was also a swimmer for the Aggies


GREENSBORO, July 7, 2009 – In an effort to return North Carolina A&T’s volleyball team into a serious MEAC contender again, North Carolina A&T Athletics Director Wheeler Brown turned to someone who is familiar with Aggie volleyball success.

On Tuesday, Brown named N.C. A&T alumnus Toni Conway as the new N.C. A&T head volleyball coach. Conway spent the previous four seasons as the head coach at Division II Bowie State.
“I am impressed with coach Conway’s overall commitment to academics and discipline,’’ said Brown. “She was a very impressive student-athlete in the classroom and on the court when she attended A&T. Therefore, I know she will stress the importance of being a complete student-athlete. She will demand hard work, dedication and respect from our ladies. Those are the very things that made this program a solid one for many years.”

Conway coached at Bowie State from 2005-08. Three out of those four seasons saw the Bulldogs finish with a winning record in the CIAA. The Bulldogs won 52 games under Conway’s tenure. In 2007, Conway led the Bulldogs to an historical season.

The program reached the CIAA Championship final for the first time in school history. During the 2007 regular season, the Bulldogs went 16-14 overall and 8-5 in the conference. Conway also coached the CIAA Rookie of the Year in middle hitter Bethany Sloat in the same season. Seven players from Bowie State made second-team All-CIAA in 2008.

“I’m so excited about returning to North Carolina A&T,’’ said Conway, who earned a B.S., in health physical education and recreation (HPER) and fitness and wellness management in 2001. “I’m ready to get started with our young ladies, so we can begin the task of turning this program around. We want this program to be something Aggies can be proud of.”

Conway was an outside hitter and defensive specialist for the Aggies. During Conway’s playing days, N.C. A&T went 31-7 in the MEAC, including an 8-0 conference record in 1998. It was the first and only time in school history the Aggies finished the conference season undefeated. Conway was also a two-year member of the Aggies swim team.

Conway’s classroom work was also impressive. She was a three-time scholar athlete, and she represented her academic major as the HPER president. Conway’s head coaching experience also includes a stint at Division III Trinity University. She also built statewide competitive programs at Oxon Hill High School in Maryland where she coached volleyball, tennis and was the co-head coach of the swimming team.

“I am a strong believer of being a student of the game,’’ said Conway. “It’s hard to perform at your best if you don’t understand the game. It will take a lot of studying, hard work and discipline to get us back to the level of play everyone is accustomed to us playing. I am confident we will get there.”

-www.ncataggies.com-

[krazykev]

Here is her picture

Toni Conway

[oleschoolaggie]

looks like our administrators have finally come to realize that when it comes to getting the job done, we need to hire the folks who care the most about a&t!

now, our most recent hires all have a little somethin' in common. our new chancellor is an aggie, our athletic director is an aggie, our new football coach is a former aggie football coach, and now, our new volleyball coach is an aggie.

i luv it! but let's not give them an easy pass just because they're one of us! they must be held accountable just like everybody else. only time will tell if this will work, but i like the idea of hiring aggies if they're best suited for the job...

[Maxell]

Jul 6, 2009 21:00:28 GMT -5 Maxell said:

..But she needs to find a JUCO 6-footer or two in the next three weeks. This is a short team.

Like I said.

[truthseeker]

gonna have to get alot of size & ladies who can bring it... defense wins gms but in volleyball you need players who can close out points with authority...!!!!!!!!!