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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 24, 1997)
j L" ; i 24,199? m CANADA Wednesday • September 24, 1997 S The Battalion PORTS Aggies set to battle Horns in Big 12 opener H. Lansing 0 OHIO The 14th-ranked Texas A&M volleyball !am enter tonight’s match against The 2th-ranked University of Texas as one of ie hottest teams in the country. The Ag ios have won seven straight to go 7-2 for ie season. A&M won the Notre Dame tournament lis weekend by beating The University of lj| ialifornia and 25th-ranked Notre Dame, couldn’t be happier that we won this ornament,’’coach Laurie Corbelli said. “It tack. r ors, two kers each iople and eeing. panicked g toward 112 miles ided the balances a in. n July in eople and McKinney making presence felt during final campaign nassacres il villages, re sprung :reasingly edbythe f an early- upofsus- s in a vil- re NewYec mers' eyes' a NewM aid. “Theyit every dim es are emp: it lamp, st year led;: enjaminNij naplatfori By Travis V. Dabney Stajf writer really showed some great character the way we fought through the lapses in concentra tion to win those matches.” The Aggies enter the first game of the Big 12 season with a very tough match. They will travel to The University of Texas and play in front of 6,000 to 7,000 hostile fans. “This game gives bragging rights as to who is the best in the state ofTexas,” Corbelli said “ but it means more to me to to play one of the top teams in the Big 12 and see where we are in terms of mental toughness.” The Aggies enter tonight’s match having only beaten The University ofTexas 12 times compared to 44 losses. “The University ofTexas is a very tough place to play,” Corbelli said “You have to have a plan and you have to execute.” The Aggies beat the Longhorns last year in September at G. Rollie White but then suffered a 0-3 sweep at the hands of the Longhorns in November at the Frank Erwin Center. “ We are a veteran squad and we know what to expect when we walk on the court with Texas,” Corbelli said. “We are more prepared to have a desirable outcome than we were last year.” In terms of importance, this game is just another in a series of important league games for the Aggies. “I don’t overemphasize any of the matches in league play because they are all important” Corbelli said. Senior outside hitter Kristie Smedsrud gathered up another personal award this weekend by being voted the most valuable player of the Notre Dame Tournament. “ This game is not really more impor tant than any of the other but rather a stepping stone in our goal of winning the Big 12” Smedsrud said. “ What makes this match special for me is that I came from California. Out there the only thing that even comes close to this ri valry is UCLA-USC rivalry.” “It is just a lot of fun for the players and fans both.” Coach Laurie Corbelli racked up her 200th career victory this weekend as well as her 100th victory as Texas A&M head coach. The Aggies will attempt to break an 18- year losing steak to the Longhorns in Austin, as the Aggies have not beat the Horns in Austin since 1979. Trench Warfare By Chris Ferrell Sports editor A Imost anywhere in the country, a kid who L\ grows up to be 6-foot-4 and weigh 280 , Ipounds has free run of the neighborhood. Imost every kid but Seth McKinney. As big as Seth was, his older brother Steve, was [ways bigger. “He always had his friends over and they were bout three or four years older,” the younger IcKinney said. “I was a little kid and always the stone picked. (I got beat on) by him and his lends.” Seth McKinney is, by no means alone. Over the last three seasons, a number of the ation’s top defensive lineman have also found lemselves taking a beating over the from Steve IcKinney, a senior left guard and All-Confer- ice candidate for the Texas A&M Football )me This season the same scenario holds true with IcKinney emerging as the anchor for the offen- holidavk§ e ^ ne an< ^ a l ea der among his teammates. Since moving from offense to defense before ie 1995 season, McKinney has made 23 con- cutive starts at guard for the Aggies. Playing a position often overlooked, IcKinney said he definitely has a team first [entality. “You have to be mentally tough first of all (to an offensive lineman), and you have to be ysically tough because your going to be bang- ig around every play in the trenches,” he said. hose two things together and a good attitude about your team (are important); because you’re not going to get a lot of publicity. You just have to be able to accept that, and take your role on the team. The offensive lineman are the guys who are going to block and set the tempo for the of fense.” That attitude has helped him gain the respect of his teammates. “I consider him a team leader,” junior quar terback Branndon Stewart said. “He gets guys ex cited. He’s always keeping guys in line. He gets the offensive line going.” McKinney has grown into a leadership po sition by having experience and by perform ing on the field. The role of team leader is one which McKin ney takes very seriously. He understands both the impact he can have on younger players and the potential he has to make his final season at A&M a successful one. “I’m a senior, so I have to be a leader,” he said. “I want to show the guys that I’m a se nior, but I’m still out there working as hard as the freshmen who are trying to prove them selves. That’s how I’ve gotten to be and those are the kind of goals I set for myself. “I’m not a big rah-rah guy out on the practice field because a lot of guys don’t want to hear - diat. I try to lead by example, and they’re going to see I’m working hard and getting better every day.” Offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Steve Marshall said for teams to be suc cessful, they have to have players like McKin ney who can step up and lead. “You have to have guys like that to be a good COURTSEY SPORTS INFORMATION Senior left guard Steve McKinney has started 23 consecutive games for the Texas A&M Football Team. offensive football team,” Marshall said. “Steve is a guy that (playing football) means a lot to, and it’s very important to him that he have a good se nior year and we have a good offense. So far I’ve been very pleased with his production.” Please see McKinney on Page 8 Conference set forfinal week of preseason play me » NOTEBOOK Darren Davis, the younger brother of Troy Davis, had just one attempt for 14 yards. I t’s the final week of non-confer ence competition. For the Big 12, it’s the final week of the preseason. Conference titles will be won and lost with several key matchups in the weeks to come. But fear not. The Swami promises some intriguing matchups as teams compete in their final tune-up. Interstate love song The Iowa Hawkeyes (3-0) contin- uedtheir trend of beating up the stepchild with a sound 63-20 whip ping of interstate rival Iowa State University. The victory came in Iowa head coach Haden Fry’s 400th game. Iowa State (0-4) was held to mi nus- 11 yards rushing for the game. Quarterback Troy Brandhauer seem ingly lost his sense of direction, rush ing 10 times for -69 yards. Learn to run the other way Troy! Notify the World Wildlife Fund For the Ragin’ Cajuns, the quarter back is becoming an endangered species. Trying to deal with the loss of Jake Delhomme (the school record holder for all-purpose yards) to grad uation, the Ragin’ Cajuns were forced to start the game against the Aggies without starting quarterback Barton Folse, who broke his finger in the Ca juns’ loss to Texas Tech the previous week. Backup quarterback Brian Soignier filled in but went down late in the second quarter with a bruised knee. Head coach Nelson Stolkey was forced to go with emergency quarter back and freshman Lance Domec. Cajuns forgot the cayenne pepper In USL’s 29-22 victory over the Ag gies last season, the Ragin’ Cajuns forced the Aggies to cough up the ball eight times and capitalized on A&M’s numerous misfortunes to se cure the upset. But the Cajuns seemed to forget their newfound formula for success. Please see Burch on Page 10 H 'OU ? our mino' treat necessaij vl student! Center, ience. 0 696-0 313 S. 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