Sports
15,2001 .
THE BATTALION
Pa g e 7
Ags fail short to Huskers
Colorado
STUART VILLANUEVA* THE BATTALION
[iior outside hitter Michelle Cole digs a ball during the
ps loss to the No. 2 Nebraska Cornhuskers Sunday.
By Doug Puentes
THE BATTALION
At the start of its game against No.
2 Nebraska on Sunday, the No. 17
Texas A&M volleyball team sent a
shot out across the bow of the
Cornhuskers.
By winning the first game of the
match the Aggies handed Nebraska
its first game loss in Big 12 play.
The Cornhuskers picked them
selves up off the mat and showed
why they are the defending national
champions by taking the next three
games from the Aggies to win the
match, 25-30, 30-24, 31-29, 30-24.
The Aggies (12-3, 5-2 in Big 12)
lost their third match at home this sea
son and second in conference play.
Nebraska (15-1, 8-0 in Big 12) won
its fourth-straight against the Aggies.
“I've seen this team do it all year
long,” said Nebraska coach John
Cook. “They come back and win
those tight games. They wear teams
down. It was hard for A&M to play at
the level they played at in the first
game for two-and-a-half hours.”
“We did it last year too,” said
A&M volleyball coach Laurie
Corbelli. “We played a great first
game, and we caught a great team
off-guard and it makes them make a
lot of adjustments. It’s tough to sus
tain that. I think we can do a better
job of trying, especially in game two.
We had a major letdown. That’s just a
mystery of sports.”
The Aggies rushed to an 8-1 lead
thanks to two kills by senior outside
hitter Erin Lechler. A&M stretched
the lead to 19-11 on a kill by senior
outside hitter Brandi Mount.
Nebraska scratched its way back to
cut the lead to three at 26-23 on a hit
ting error by Lechler.
A&M closed out the game by tak
ing four of the next five points, seal
ing the game on a kill by freshman
middle blocker Melissa Munsch.
The Aggies had a letdown in the
second game, falling behind 27-17,
before a kill by Nebraska’s Anna
Schrad closed the game and tied the
match at one.
In the third game, the Aggies came
out with the same fire they showed in
the first, jumping out to an 8-4 lead
on a kill by Mount. Three straight
service aces by junior middle blocker
A.D. Achilefu pushed it to an 11-4
lead, seemingly putting the
Cornhuskers back on their heels.
Nebraska did not waiver, prompt
ly going on a 10-3 run to tie the game
at 14 on a kill by Laura Pilakowski.
Both teams traded the lead until
Nebraska took a 28-26 lead on an
error by Achilefu.
The Aggies did not go down with
out a fight, as two kills by Mount and
another by Achilefu gave A&M a
game point at 29-28.
Nebraska responded with three
straight points of its own, taking the
game on a kill by Amber Holmquist.
After the third game, Nebraska put
the Aggies away in the fourth. A&M
did manage to close the gap to 26-23
on a service ace by Munsch, but
Nebraska scored four of the last five
points to win the match.
Lechler led the Aggies with 20 kills
but had 15 errors and managed only a
.096 hitting percentage. Mount added
19 kills and Munsch chipped in 15.
SPORTS IN BRIEF
&M finishes
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The Texas A&M equestrian
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tv on thinf-aitf m(i place " ms ” ,n lts flrst
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into the bad Senior Quincy Cahill led the
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lumped oint honors with a second
lace finish in open horse-
Cross country defends titles
s’ 31-21 win.
132-yard gain.
,4-2
ito a shoot out is
'dcky Thrasher
i Aggies on the
15 seconds in
from m&lder
ie goal and fired
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“We needed to
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1 a half minutes
iebraska comet
ront of A&M’s
By Maya Thomas
THE BATTALION
HADO onpaf. lanship and a third place fin-
bin reigning.
Sophomore Amanda Ratliff
as the only rider to point out of
[, er dass and advanced to the
igional championships to be
i in March in the intermedi-
te horsemanship category.
For the second year in a row,
the Texas A&M cross country
team dominated the Texas A&M
Invitational, defending its team
titles and walking away with top
honors.
Saturday’s chilly winds and
drizzling rain may have damp
ened the turf at the A&M golf
course but did not dampen the
performance of the A&M cross
country team.
The No. 18 women’s team
made an impressive showing, with
A&M graduate student Kathy
Newberry and All-American
Melissa Gulli finishing first and
second respectively, on the 6,000-
meter course. Both Gulli and
Newberry ran unattached.
Newberry finished with a
time of 22:05 and Gulli, who
was redshirted this season, fin
ished with a very close time of
22:33. Gulli was trying to defend
her title from the 2000 season at
the A&M Invitational.
Katherine King finished ninth
overall with a time of 23:28 and
scored sixth in the team race.
Scorers for the A&M team were
Staci Cusimano, eighth; Ginger
Beran, ninth; Kristy Bonn, 10th;
Sarah Damarodas, 15th.
Saturday’s victory was the
A&M women's third consecutive
win at the A&M Invitational.
The men’s team clenched the
title for the second straight year,
with junior stand-out Juan De
Bastos winning at 26:09 on the
five-mile course.
With his first place finish, De
Bastos became the first A&M
runner since 1996 to win the
men’s division at the Invitational.
“Near the finish I was think
ing I’ve got to win it,” De
Bastos said. “The conditions
were really tough, but everyone
had to run the same course and
had the same opportunity. I felt
like I ran a really good race.”
All of the men’s team finished
in the top 25 in the team race;
Brandon Beasley, 10th; Tommy
Bonn, 19th; Jayme D’ Agnolo,
22nd; Andrew Cook, 23rd.
ANDY HANDCOCK • THE BATTALION
A&M’s Juan De Bastos crosses the
finish line in first place on Saturday.
Continued from Page 6
Colorado defenders to pulldown
his second touchdown catch of
the game. The catch gave the
Aggies a 14-6 lead.
Colorado found the endzone
with only 12 seconds on the clock
before halftime, when Ochs found
wide receiver Derek McCoy on a
slant across the middle to cut the
A&M lead to 14-12.
McCoy found an opening
again on the two-point conver
sion, tying the game at 14.
“We needed somebody to step
up and make a play, and Derek
certainly did,” said Colorado head
coach Gary Barnett. “Somebody
makes the play, and the game
comes down to that, generally.”
The Buffaloes capitalized on
the Aggies’ third quarter offensive
woes, connecting on another field
goal, this time from 39 yards.
Colorado added to its 17-14
lead on their next drive, moving
67-yards in 10 plays to score on a
2-yard run by running back
Cortlen Johnson. The score
marked the first time the Aggies
have been scored upon in the final
quarter this season.
After Colorado ran five con
secutive running plays later in the
game, the Buffaloes were forced
to pass on third-and-nine.
Taking over at their own 42-
yard line after a Wes Bautovich
interception, the Aggies struck
quickly, covering the 58 yards
in two plays on passes from
Farris to Murphy. Farris found
Murphy on the second play for
the 36 yard score, cutting the
Buffalo lead to three points
with five minutes left .
The Aggies looked deter
mined on their next drive —
then disaster struck.
After moving the ball to the
Colorado 35-yard line with
ease, Farris fumbled and
Colorado wrapped up the
Buffaloes’3 1-2 1 victory.
“Colorado gambled and
won,” Slocum said. “This kind
of game is hard on a team. The
challenge is to go back and get
recharged to play another tough
opponent next week.”
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