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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 11, 2003)
mv THE BATTALI Sports The Battalion Page 1B • Thursday, September 11, 2003 Aggies set for home opener ’Horns and Huskers looking for revenge ’ * * * * * ***?*■ *?*«*!/ is* !i THE ASSOCIATED PRESS de Center and IcnocU vers Tuesday morning d. “The attack s use of safety to its foil' ; events also opened ents’ eyes to the factttn eople in the worid svln p hatred for our court!! I' life. It made thenalifl'l we are not as safe as ought." ay Americans gel om i and other patriotic isko wishes people _ 'e displayed their 1 before Sept 11. as though the natiot sped a greater sense sm after the event," id. “At the same ti me that a national id to happen to riotism. I remembet es being shocked!))' it, but also angered I that someone wouli nation.” Americans will take their day for a ' prayer or thought! n the Sept. 11 attacks iser, a junior educate pause today in ice, she said. In’t believe what was I My original reaction! s someone doing tlii| ser said. ,“1 didn’t •e were so many peoj In’t like the U.S.” lid she now knows she is to live intliis d will no longertaki| n for granted, ve that everyone ed by 9-11 in the ” Hiser said. “Man)! k our country for d 9-11 gives us a ck.” By Jeff Allen THE BATTALION When University of Southern California third-year volleyball coach Mick Haley steps into G. Rollie White Coliseum this Saturday night, he’ll know exactly what to expect. Haley spent 17 years leading the University of Texas into the “Holler House on the Brazos,” during which he won 14 Southwest Conference titles, as well as two national championships. “It’s a great place to play.” Haley said, “Once I tried standing up 15-20 times (to encourage ‘Sit Down Bus Driver’) and the crowd kept getting louder. You’re not going to wear out an I A&M crowd.” Since grasping the reins at USC, Haley has recreated the success he had [ in the Lone Star State. The Trojans will be toting with them the moniker of defending national champions as they take the floor against the Aggies Saturday night in the finale of the McDonald’s Texas A&M Invitational. Since starting the season, USC has proved that it is worthy of the title. The Trojans, who return their six mainline starters as well as their libero from last year’s squad, have firmly secured themselves in the No. 1 spot in all the national polls by winning their first six matches in a llawless total of 18 games. Add the fact that four of those oppo nents were top-10 teams, and it’s easy to see why the Aggies have their hands full this weekend without having to play two other opponents. “Right now we are focused on Friday night’s match, and we’re not thinking about USC,” said junior setter Lexi Beers. “We just have to go into the game strong and not underestimate the team we’re playing and know that if we aren’t playing our game, we’re going to get beat.” The Aggies learned that lesson the hard way last week in Ann Arbor, John C. Livas • THE BATTALION Texas A&M middle blocker Melissa Munsch and the Aggie volleyball team begin their home schedule Friday against Southwest Missouri State. A&M plays No. 1 USC on Saturday. Mich., when they faced an unranked Wolverine team after defeating then- No. 16 Louisville the night before. A&M coach Laurie Corbelli admits the Aggies may have underestimated their opponent after watching them struggle the night before. The mental lapse left the door open for the Wolverines’ three-game sweep. “They were a little misled by what their opponent was going to throw at them.” Corbelli said. “We had our first experience against a team that was not going to let up or go away until they had a victory. It was good for us.” This week, A&M is taking nothing for granted. Before facing USC on Saturday night, the Aggies have two dif ficult matches. First, their home opener Friday night against a solid Southwest Missouri State squad, and then at noon on Saturday against Centenary. See Opener on page 3B Call it a premonition, but it seems that Gary Barnett and his No. 17 Colorado Buffaloes (2-0) are looking to prove that their appearances in the Big 12 champi onship games the past two seasons were no flukes. Even after losing highly rated quar terback Craig Ochs, who transferred to I-AA Montana, and highly rated backs such as Chris Brown to the NFL draft and Marcus Houston, who transferred to rival Colorado State, Barnett and company were more than willing to bypass the usual cupcakes of the Our Lady of the Lake University variety for more formidable non-con ference opponents that will help boost their strength of schedule ratings in the Bowl Championship Series. Already this year, the Buffaloes have faced Colorado State, a team that has beaten them two of the past three years, and UCLA, who notably gave Colorado fits last year in Pasadena, Calif. However, unlike last year, the Buffaloes survived their first two non conference encounters (42-35 over CSU and 16-14 over UCLA), only to find themselves headed into another tough match-up with Washington State. Although the Cougars will come in unranked, they are a force to be reck oned with after coming close to pulling off the huge upset against Notre Dame last week in the Irish’s home opener in South Bend. The Cougars still have some veter ans left from their Rose Bowl team of last year, and they will be eager to rid themselves of the bitter taste of defeat that they garnered at the hands of the Fighting Irish last weekend. Horns and Hogs meet again Two old rivals will renew their NOTEBOOK I Pete Burks blood feud from years past when the Arkansas Razorbacks (1-0) go to Austin to face No. 6 Texas (1-0) at II a.m. on ABC. The Longhorns enter the game with a chip on their shoulder. Mack Brown and compa ny posted bulletin board material of Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt showing the “hook’em” symbol upside down after Arkansas defeated Texas in the Cotton Bowl in 2000. This time around, the Longhorns will be expecting a much different result as Arkansas is currently unranked, and Longhorn starting quar terback Chance Mock has already had a chance to prove himself in a 66-3 rout of hapless New Mexico State. However, Mock’s veteran status is dubious since he only went 7-15 for 156 yards against an overmatched New Mexico State defense. Even though they are unranked, Arkansas is still a danger ous team with the wily Nutt as head coach and an experienced quarterback in Matt Jones, who led the Hogs to the SEC championship game last season. In addition, Arkansas has a slew of hardy tailbacks led by Cedric Cobbs and De'Arrius Howard who combined to rush for 210 yards and three touchdowns in the Hogs’ rout of Tulsa last Saturday. Nebraska seeks revenge No. 18 Nebraska (2-0) will be look ing to avenge its 40-7 loss against Penn State (0-1) that precipitated the Big Red’s downward spiral last year. This year, the Huskers’ vaunted Black Shirt defense is back, after giving up a com bined 14 points in the first two games. See Notebook on page 3B HES HT In honor of the second anniversary of the tragic events of September 1 r h we will be donating ALL of today's profits to the September 11 th fund. GOD BLESS AMMMBMtJL 9-11' FREE DELIVERY -S FREE 0 p.m. I & up ):00 p.m. 301-A College Main (In Northgate at Church and College Main) HOURS: Sun.-Wed. 11 am - 10 pm Thurs.-Sat. 11 am -3 am CHEAP BEER: $ 1.75 pints and $ 2.50 chuggars ALL DAY EVERYDAY Bud, Bud Light, Coors Light, Miller Lite, Shiner Bock, Amber Bock