11
Battalion
PORTS
: riday, September 1,1989
f adv Ags fall to LSU 3-1
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By Alan Lehmann
[Of The Battalion Staff
Despite playing in front of the
argest season-opening crowd in the
listory of Lady Aggie volleyball,
Texas A&M couldn’t pull off an up-
etover the Louisiana State Lady Ti
lers.
L The crowd of 1,900 watched
K&M lose 7-15, 15-13, 13-15 and 14-
6.
I Both teams played well defensi-
|ely, as there were only two runs of
Inore than three points. Unfortu
nately for A&M, LSU had a five-
point run to come from a 14-11 defi-
I tit and win the final game.
I Yvonne Van Brandt, senior setter
I'rom San Antonio, had 25 digs and a
l eam-high .500 hitting average. Play
ing the entire match, Van Brandt
I rad 48 sets and three aces.
I “The crowd was incredible,” Van
prandt said. “It really got us
pumped up, especially in the last
igame. It was just such a heart-
breaker to lose when we were so
close.”
The crowd became a factor after
LSU took an 8-1 lead in the opening
game. At that point, A&M re
bounded to score four of the next
five points. However, LSU scored
their final six points on an ace, a kill
and four A&M errors.
In the second game, A&M erased
a 2-0 deficit, and led 7-4 behind
three Kelli Kellen kills. With the
crowd going wild, LSU committed
several errors and dropped behind
13-10. But LSU shook off the deaf
ening effect of the crowd, and nar
rowed the lead to 14-13 on two Tra
cey Payne blocks.
Kellen scored the final point on a
block of Payne to win the second
game.
The Lady Aggies jumped out to a
8-1 lead in the second game on two
blocks by Krista Heirholzer, a kill
and a block by Kellen, and two aces
by Raychelle Michalke.
However, LSU scored seven of
the next nine points on five A&M er
rors. LSU’s Nyla Shepherd, a sopho
more outside attacker, killed three
balls as LSU took a 14-11 lead. A&M
then staved off seven game points
before falling 15-13.
In the final game, LSU grabbed a
5-1 lead on three strong kills. A&M
then fought back to take a 7-6 lead
on an Hierholzer kill. Three Aggie
errors led to an 11-7 lead.
Kellen killed two more in a seven-
point A&M run that made the score
14-11, and set the stage for the LSU
comeback.
A&M Coach A1 Givens said the
loss was dissapointing, but praised
LSU.
“They took advantage of our mis
takes,” Givens said. “They aren’t in
the Top 20 yet, but they will be soon.
“We had a lot of serving errors.
We’ll have to work those out. When
we do, we may be in the Top 20,
too.”
mot
Photo by Mike C. Mulvey
The Texas A&M Lady Aggies celebrate af- LSU eventually won 3-1 Thursday night at
ter winning the second game against LSU. G. Rollie White Coliseum.
d to
feds
A&M could take first opener in five years against tough
LSU
I really appreciate ambition.
I don’t always understand it but I
ippreciate it nontheless.
Like when fools climb into the ring with
cal. Mike Tyson. Like when Jamaica enters a
lobsledteam. Like the time I thought I
ouldhack 18 hours and honors classes.
It’s because of this appreciation that I
applaud A&M’s choice of opponents in the
games that open their football seasons.
But I don’t think I understand it either.
The Aggies have dropped six of their last
seven openers and the last four in a row.
Home game, away game — it just doesn’t
teem to matter. The last five opening
games have been against Nebraska, LSU,
LSUagain, Alabama and UTEP. You can
probably figure out the one A&M won.
And now it’s LSU yet again. It makes you
wonder what UTEP is doing this weekend.
MTfpl
wf
Tom
Kehoe
L——
Sports Editor
Many in this area perceive Lousiana State
University to be some backwoods, bayou
outfit that can provide a good challenge to
the team that has been to three Cotton
Bowls in the 1980s. And that ultimately the
Tigers will be the first notch in the win
column on the road to Dallas.
Nothing could be farther form the truth.
In case you haven’t noticed, and that’s
why I’m here to point it out to you, LSU has
assembled one of the finest athletic
programs in the country. Aside from
football, which has won two of the last three
SEC titles, the Tigers can also claim last
year’s NCAA track champion, a baseball
team that made it to Omaha, a basketball
team that took the SEC and made the
NCAA, and a top twenty swimming team.
And that’sjust in men’s athletics.
The point is what is UTEP doing this
weekend? I mean, LSU has outscored A&M
79-20 in their last three meetings and is
going into this game ranked tenth, while
A&M couldn’t crack the Top 25. The Tiger
offense returns nine starters, and that
doesn’t include Harvey “Attitude”
Williams. QB TommyTIodson has been
All-SEC since his freshman season and is
said to have an outside shot at the Heisman.
Bewildered?
Are you asking, “Is there even a point to
this?”
Answer: You bet.
All the aforementioned attributes of the
Tigers are on one side of the ball: offense.
Defense wins games. Look it up.
Defense could be LSU’s tragic flaw in
Saturday’s drama. While many starters
return to advance the ball, only four will be
there to get it back. And the defection of
Tyronne Malone creates even more
opportunities for the Aggies.
Obviously Slocum wants to keep coach
Mike Archer’s offense on the sideline as
much as possible. His gameplan is to play
ball-control with short Miami-style passes
and application of a strong running game.
Let’s see how Shannon Cornelius, the
redshirt freshman who will replace Malone
as the starter, likes a steady progression of
Darren Lewis’ Tank division rolling
through his right-side linebacking area.
Last year in Baton Rouge, Lewis and
fellow starters receiver Rod Harris and
fullback Matt Gurley missed the game with
injuries. And although starting QB Bucky
Richardson was able to play, he was
ineffective due to an injury suffered in the
Nebraska game.
Any way Slocum approaches it, LSU can
be beaten, opening game or not. Even the
odds-makers think so, who are making
A&M only a two-point underdog.
That is if the Aggies can summon the
same ambition they found against UTEP in
onnect!
onnectl
CAttJHM
Xtito
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