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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 2000)
Msdav. August 7, 20(X) Index: Section B Jports 2B; Nation 3B; Classified 4B; Opinion 7B Sports THE BATTALION Puec 1B Aggies defeat Cougars in first home match No jitters for Aggies at home It is a com pletely new look in G. Rol- lie White Coli seum this fall. Gone are the star seniors from the 199 L ) A&M volley ball team that led the Aggies to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament. Wednesday showed the new line up as A& M defeated the Houston Cougars. The Aggies of 2000 present a deep, multifaceted attack that causes opponents to question where the main threat is. On Wednesday night, nine of A&M's players who saw court time logged kills. New' starters Heather Marshall and Tara Pulas ki joined Michelle Cole as play ers with over 10 kills. “For our home opener and for early season. I was incredibly pleased,” said A&M coach Lau rie Corbelli. ‘Eve been here eight years and each season the team has had a lot of jitters in the first ^ame and an incredible amount of nerves and had to work through that. This team didn’t have that tonight.” Instead, the Aggies were so comfortable with their lineup that they were able to play the third game with only one to two starters on the floor at a time, al lowing the bench to claim a 15-5 win in the third and final game. | “Every year I feel like we get deeper and deeper,” Corbelli Texas A&M volleyball kicks off2000 home schedule with victory over old SWC rival PATRICK SCHNEIDER/Thi Battauon Sophomore A.D. Achilefu and Junior Erin Gibson go for a dig last night. By Bree Holz • The Battalion In its first home match of the sea son, the 18th-ranked Texas A&M vol leyball team defeated the University of Houston Cougars 15-11, 15-9, 15-5 last night at G. Rollie White Coliseum in front of a crowd of 1,255. The Ag gies now move to 2-2, handing the Cougars their first loss of the season. The Aggie defense was unstop pable, as A&M posted 12 total team blocks Compared to a mere three blocks by the Cougars. A&M also out- hit Houston .307 to .115. Senior middle blocker Heather Marshall led the Aggie attack as she posted 12 kills and no errors for a .632 hitting percentage. Defensively, Marshall recorded three blocks and eight digs. A&M coach Laurie Corbelli was impressed with the play of her team. “For a home opener and for early season, I was incredibly pleased," she said. “This team handled the pressure beautifully. Even when they got down, they bounced right back and stayed relaxed.” The Aggies began the match by go- “For a home opener and for early season, I was incredibly pleased. 11 — Laurie Corbelli Texas A&M volleyball coach ing on a 4-0 run thanks to two quick kills from Marshall. But the Cougars scored immediately afterward and held the Aggies to numerous sideouts before committing a hitting error, giv ing A&M a 5-0 lead. With the score at 8-4. Houston was forced to call a timeout. They managed to score six more points, but after two kills by junior outside hitter Brandi Mount and numerous hitting errors, they could not manage any more. To start game tyv'o, A&M went on a 5-1 run with kills from junior outside hitter Michelle Cole and Marshall. The Cougars found their rhythm and tied the score 5-5, but back-to-back kills from sophomore middle blocker Tara Pulaski forced another Cougar timeout. Houston’s momentum diminished, and an ace at game point from senior defensive specialist Christy Clark gave the Aggies game two. The Aggies dominated once again in the third game by going on a 6-0 run to staid the game. The Cougars could not dig the hard A&M kills and recorded a weak .097 hitting percent age that allowed A&M to quickly win game three. “We don’t have one key player, so other teams find it difficult to try and focus on one person,” Corbelli said. “Tonight, that really allowed us to spread out our attack and be dominant at every hitting position.” Road tripping Tallahassee and Gainesville for second straight weekend of playing Top 20 opponents posed by the Seminoles and Gators com- gie Soccer Complex and the Aggies eked pared to those they faced last weekend. out a 2-1 win, one that Guerrieri said his . .am See Jitters on Page 2B. Soccer team travels to By Blaine Dionne The Battalion Another weekend will bring two more Top-25 opponents for the No. 7 Texas A&M soccer team. Last weekend, the Aggies traveled to New England and beat then-No.7 Hartford and No. 17 Harvard. This time around, they are heading to the Citrus State to face No. 18 Florida State and No. 19 Florida on Friday and Sunday, respectively. A&M coach G. Guerrieri said his team is looking forward to the different challenges posed by the Seminoles and Gators com pared to those they faced last weekend. “Both Florida and Florida State are as dangerous or more dangerous than the two teams we just played ,” Guerrieri said. “We need to go in there and be opportunistic, and see if we can get two more wins against two more ranked teams on the road.” According to Guerrieri, the two Florida teams are more like the Aggies in their style of play than last week's opponents — speed- oriented and attacking the goal with superi or numbers — especially Florida State. The two teams met last season at the Ag gie Soccer Complex and the Aggies eked out a 2-1 win, one that Guerrieri said his team was lucky to get. “We played them last year at home and were fortunate to get out of here with the win,” he said. “They were able to score on one of their few good chances and we squandered a lot of ours so we're going to have to do a better job of finishing our op portunities.” Guerrieri also said the Gators will be no easier. Florida is a mere two seasons re moved from their last soccer national See Road on Page 2B. #18 6 p.m. Friday- Tallahassee. Fla. Florida State Florida MS #19 1p.m. Sunday- * w Gainesville, Fla. V Kroger ( Buy One, Get One FREE Welcome Ags Tailgate Headquarters Keg Center Bud! Ice Keystone Lite ® ne ’ or Ice House CARD PRICE Decker Meat Franks $ 31 99 Natural Lite CARD PRICE 34 99 Decker Smoked Sausage Links 12 Oz. Pkg. Decker 14 '? 6 °*' Pkg ' Meat Franks. Decker Smoked Buy one 12 Oz. Pkg. FAST CHECK-OUT! Decker Meat Franks, r\ •* • i i O g a. ee, Get One FREE! Deposit required on kegs. Buy one 14-16 Oz. Kegs only sold at SW Parkway Store^9- ^ eck , e . r f m in College Station. Sausage Links, Get One FREE! TEXAS AGGIE YELL LEADERS BONELESS, SKINLESS BREAST FILLETS Fresh Grade "A" Tyson Weekend Warm-Up Friday Sept 8 3:00 - 7:00 pm Law / Puryear Field Specials valid with the Kroger’s Plus Card Register Now! COKE CLASSIC, DR. PEPPER Diet Coke, Sprite, Fresco, Surge, Nestea Cool, Diet Dr. Pepper 12 Pack 12 Oz. Cans Limit 2 Total with Kroger Plus Card Free Food • Hot Dogs • Sausage • Drinks • Much More Live Music • “Invisible Cindy” Inflatable Games Cook-Off Classic Saturday Sept 9 th 1:00 - 5:00 pm Law / Puryear Field Featuring Roger Creager Mark David Manders Great Aggie B.B.Q. Inflatable Games September 8 th &9 h 2000 CARD PRICE CARD PRICE SPECIALS EFFECTIVE WED SEFT 6 THRU TUES. SEPT. 12,2000 AT 3535 LONGMIRE DR., CCX1EGE STATION & 2412 TEXAS AVE., COLLEGE STATION & 2014 TEXAS AVE., BRYAN KROGER STORES (UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED). ATHLETICS FOUNDATION Uik VI The Association of Former Students one (Ac 'HctcvryiA A&M