Sports
alanced attack leads Aggies over La. Tech
H|
By Dallas Shipp
THE BATTALION
I Texas A&M offensive play-
L and coaches all said the
[me thing following their 31-3
Kn over Louisiana Tech
jaturday night — “we took a
lall step in the right direction.”
may have been one small step
rthem, but it seemed like one
ant leap for many of the
2,802 fans at Kyle Field.
The A&M offense responded
ositively to the midweek
hanges made by head coach
LC. Slocum. Slocum handed the
lay-calling duties to assistant
lead coach Kevin Sumlin, who
placed offensive coordinator
ino Babers.
But no matter how effective
iumlin’s play calling was, he was
luctant to take credit following
le game.
“The big thing was that the
ffensive staff sat down this week
id worked through it as a group
id tried to develop a plan that
ould give us a chance to be suc-
lessful” Sumlin said. “It’s the
The Battalion
Page 1B • Monday, September 30, 2002
whole group, this is not a one
man deal.”
Coming into the game, the
A&M offense was ranked No.
106 in the nation, averaging 286
yards per game. However, the
change in play calling appeared
to give the Aggies new life as
they racked up 444 total yards
of offense.
The offense was a balanced
attack, something that many
fans have been calling for since
last season. The Aggies ran for
206 yards on 43 carries com
bined with 238 yards passing on
30 attempts.
“1 thought our offense looked
more balanced tonight,” Slocum
said. “I thought our execution
was better, we did a better job of
mixing things up. We ran the ball
better, we threw the ball better.”
Sophomore quarterback
Dustin Long completed 13-of-
26 attempts for 205 yards and
one touchdown.
“It feels good,” Long said.
“Our whole motto today was that
See La. Tech on page 4B
Football was finally fun again
HaIKINGi
Points
Kevin
Espenlaub
RANDAL FORD • THE BATTALION
Aggie RB Derek Farmer breaks a long run in the third quarter on Saturday.
There was something special
in the air at Kyle Field on
Saturday that could be witnessed
from the very beginning of
Texas A&M’s victory over
Louisiana Tech.
Maybe it was the change in
play calling or maybe it was an
outstanding performance by
sophomore quarterback Dustin
Long, but whatever it was, the
Aggie offense became the story
of the game for the first time
this season.
“We talked this week about
taking a step in the right direction
on offense,” said A&M head
football coach R.C. Slocum. “We
had quite a lot of work to do and
we didn’t expect it to be fixed
overnight, but there is no ques
tion that we took a step.”
Perhaps that was how it
should have been with assistant
head coach Kevin Sumlin the
reigns of the Aggie offense for his
first time after replacing offensive
coordinator Dino Babers last
Monday.
Perhaps it was fitting, because
for the first game this season, the
team actually knew who the start
ing quarterback would be. Long
did not have to spend the entire
game looking over his shoulder
to see when Reggie McNeal
would be coming into the game.
Sumlin and Long showed
flashes of being the Aggie offen
sive ‘Dream Team’ on Saturday,
if only for one game.
“Our focus was on what we
were going to try to accomplish
in this game offensively,” Sumlin
said. “The offensive staff sat
down to look at what we could do
— what we’ve done decent so
far this season, and what we
See Fun on page 4B
olleyball snaps two-game slide by defeating Iowa State
By True Brown
THE BATTALION
I The Texas A&M volleyball team got back into
the win column Friday against Iowa State,
Sweeping the Cyclones and ending its two match
[osing streak.
No. 20 A&M put together a strong defensive
ffort, tallying 14 team blocks and 64 digs. Eight
ggies had blocks in the match, and senior A.D.
chilefuled A&M (10-3, 2-2 Big 12) with six. Iowa
tate (9-6,04) managed just three.
"We wanted to keep our blocking strong like we
did against Missouri, and that worked,” said A&M
head coach Laurie Corbelli. “Iowa State has some of
the top blockers in the league, and we were working
really hard to out-block them. We’re excited about
our performance.”
Achilefu also led the Aggies with 20 kills, and
Melissa Munsch added 14.
“Because our blocking was so solid, our diggers
had a little easier time finding where they needed to
be,” Corbelli said. “We’re trying to make a bigger
commitment to having a real aggressive defense.
(Achilefu and Munsch) are very athletic, and their
experience is really showing.”
A&M wasted no time jumping on top of the
Cyclones in game one, building a 19-13 lead after a
kill by junior Tara Pulaski. After Pulaski's kill, soph
omore Lexy Beers served six straight points for the
Aggies during an 11-1 A&M run.
After claiming game one, A&M led 9-7 before
Beers went on another serving spree. She served up
13 consecutive points to give the Aggies a 23-9 lead,
and the Cyclones never challenged.
Beers serves what is called a “floater” that moves
through the air much like a knuckleball in baseball,
and the Cyclones never seemed to get a handle on it.
“I just try to get a good float on the ball and keep
it low to the net,” Beers said. “(Assistant coach)
John (Corbelli) taught me how to contact the ball a
little differently so it creates more of a float than I
had before, so I’ve been working on that.”
ISU kept game three close, but a kill by Achilefu
gave the Aggies a 24-23 lead and began a 4-0 run
that put the Aggies ahead for good. The Cyclones
have yet to win a game in Big 12 play and were held
to a -.016 hitting percentage against the Aggies, a
season-low for an A&M opponent.
ISU outside hitter Mandi Harms, who entered
the match with a .323 hitting percentage, was held
to -.050 by A&M.
Early in the match, Corbelli decided to spread
around playing time to some of her reserves. Junior
Beth Skypala played a majority of the match in
place of usual starter Laura Jones. Skypala tallied
seven kills to tie her season high. Sophomore
Kendra Felder had a career-high six kills.
“The team needs to have some fresh arms at
times and have people that are ready to get on the
floor and into the flow of the match,” Corbelli said.
“Beth works her tail off and always has great atten
tion so 1 wanted to make sure she got her shot out
there. She’ll probably be seeing a lot more time.”
Fall Activities Council &
TAMU Food Services
Is proud to present:
Aggie Invasion at Baylor
Texas A&M vs. Baylor
October 12
$10 Bus Ride to Waco (Includes Lunch)
Come and join other students, faculty r and members of the
community as we take a bus trip to Waco to watch the
Fightin Texas Aggies beat the hell out of the Baylor Bears.
When: Saturday, October 12
Cost: $10 (available at MSC Box Office until 9/30)
Tickets to the football game sold separately:
Buy football tickets by calling 979-845-2311 or going to the
TAMU Athletic Ticket Office upstairs in Koldus.
Bring participant wavier/release form to buses
Buses will begin loading at 9AM • Buses will leave for Waco at IOAM
Buses will return for College Station 1 1/2 hours after game
Don't forget to Maroon-Out!!!