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Wednesday • September 24, 1997
S The Battalion
PORTS
Aggies set to battle Horns in Big 12 opener
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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
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By Travis V. Dabney
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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
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