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The Battalion
Page 1B • Thursday, October 31, 2002
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BRIAN RUFF • THE BATTALION
middle blocker Carol Price spikes the ball past two Oklahoma defenders during the
3-0 victory over the Sooners. Price led the Aggies with a career-high 17 kills Wednesday.
By True Brown
THE BATTALION
The Texas A&M volleyball team got
into the Halloween spirit a day early
against the University of Oklahoma.
Knowing a win would even their
Big 12 record, the Aggies did their
best impression of a slasher movie
Wednesday night, ripping the Sooners
at G. Rollie White Coliseum, 30-22,
30-21, 32-30.
OU played the role of the helpless
victim, collecting its 20th consecutive
loss and 13th straight sweep at the
hands of A&M (14-7, 6-6 Big 12).
“We came out strongly,” said A&M
head coach Laurie Corbelli. “We’ve
been working on consistency and hav
ing every player have their top game. I
thought for the most part we did.”
Carol Price earned her 11 th start of
the season and responded, tallying a
career high 17 kills to lead all players.
Four Aggies reached double figures in
kills, and three hit the mark in digs.
“We’ve been working a lot in prac
tice about getting up and going and
being more consistent,” Price said.
“I’m working on being more consis
tent with (setter) Lexy (Beers) and
connecting more.”
In the first two games, A&M took
big leads early and then turned on
cruise control. In game two, the
Aggies jumped to a 9-2 lead after a
kill by Price. A.D. Achilefu and
Melissa Munsch contributed two kills
each to start the frame, and the
Sooners never got closer than six.
Beers quarterbacked the Aggie
offense, recording 16 assists in both
games.
“Once Carol and Lexy started con
necting and seeing that things were
pretty open, they knew that that was
an area of our net that we wanted to
attack a lot,” Corbelli said. “We want
ed to get it going early. Once they got
that chemistry, they went for it, and it
was a wonderful addition to the team.”
After the Aggies jumped to the
commanding lead, Corbelli took
advantage of the opportunity to make
substitutions and let some reserves get
some playing time.
Freshman Kari Kelley, junior Kelly
Smalley and freshman Holly Clay all
saw the court. Kelley’s action was her
first of the season, and she scored an
assist on her first collegiate touch.
“We really need all the girls to get
some experience in the games,”
Corbelli said. “You never know when
you’re going to need certain players.
It’s hard to find times to put them in,
and I really wanted tonight for every
one to get on the floor.”
Corbelli’s moves almost backfired
in the third game, as the Sooners (4-
16, 2-10) appeared to have a solid grip
on the set.
A kill by OU’s Jennifer Mosso put
the Sooners up 23-17, but the Aggies
went on a seven-point run.
After holding off game point twice,
the Aggies took their first lead at 31-
30 after an ace by Tara Pulaski. A hit
ting error by OU’s Denise Griffin
ended the match.
“At home, we really don’t want to
go to four (games),” Achilefu said.
“We made it up in our minds that we
were going to win in three. We didn’t
want to lose that last game.”
Sinless Bengals’ comments motivating Texans for weekend
CINCINNATI (AP) — Just when the
IFL’s worst team thinks it has hit bot-
m, another indignity comes along. The
kinnati Bengals are underdogs to an
pansion team.
Worse, they’ve given the Houston
:xans more than enough motivation to
lie the oddsmakers look good and the
engals look foolish.
The Texans (2-5) are favored to win
leirgame Sunday at home, the first time
ley’ve gone into a game as favorites.
“It is nice to get respect as far as that
aes,” Texans quarterback David Can
id Wednesday.
The Texans aren’t getting a whole
I J>t of respect from the Bengals (0-
neygc B). who have guaranteed a win
lunday even though they’ve been
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The NFL’s worst team over the last 12
years wasn’t surprised that oddsmakers
are going with a team that has existed for
just seven games.
“Should they show us any respect
with what we’ve done this season?”
receiver Chad Johnson said Wednesday.
“Until we turn it around and gain our
respect back, that’s what they’re going to
do to us.”
The Bengals have already made it
harder for them to win a game that will
either mark a turning point or the low
point in a season that has already made
them a laughingstock.
Following a 30-24 loss to Tennessee
on Sunday, coach Dick LeBeau predict
ed a win in Houston. Johnson went even
further, guaranteeing a victory.
Carr laughed when asked whether the
Texans have bulletin boards in their new
stadium and whether they are full of
Bengals’ prognostications.
“We have a couple,” he said. “There
are some comments. Actually, they’re
plastered all over the entire stadium in
bright, yellow signs. I know there’s a lot
of them.”
Carr wouldn’t say exactly what was
on the signs, but it’s not hard to read
between the lines.
“We don’t get a lot of respect being
an expansion team, so we’re used to
that,” Carr said. “I think they’re a team
that might be searching for something,
and they thought that might be a way to
get their team fired up.”
It’s hard to say what the Bengals were
thinking when they made their brash pre
dictions. LeBeau and Johnson have had
several chances to back off their state
ments, but won’t soften them much.
“You would probably be surprised to
hear this, but I predict a victory for us
every week, and I’ll do that gladly,”
LeBeau said Wednesday.
Johnson didn’t back off his guarantee
at all. He’s not surprised it has created
such a stir.
“That’s what it should cause,”
Johnson said. “I was trying to fire the
team up a little bit. When our players
hear the feedback, they know how I feel.
I hope everybody’s on the boat with me,
and let’s ride.”
They’re on the boat, but many of them
have decided to be silent passengers,
wary of stirring up the Texans even more.
Linebacker Takeo Spikes wouldn’t dis
cuss it Wednesday, and quarterback Jon
Kitna talked around it, noting the Texans
will be inspired by what’s been said.
“I’ll predict it’s going to be loud,”
Kitna said of the game. “I’ll predict that
it will be one of the most physical games
we’ll play all year.”
Carr remembers at least one game
when he was at Fresno State and an
opponent guaranteed a win.
“I don’t remember exactly what team
they were,” Carr said. “I know what hap
pened — they didn’t win.”
If the Bengals don’t win Sunday, they
know they’re in for more national
ridicule.
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