THE BATTAL1I lelming 'yes’ and me kind of alliance,^ kind of organization,’ one of 14 organize; where the alliance are advocacy for png iromoting discussion al and ensuring j religious instructio ined. pe suffers less, ski hering Nicole Winfield ASSOCIATED PRES! ican crn ngiy frail PopeJohnfi l*c! his general audin day — a rare absetio of a mild intestinalpn sing fresh concerns ate Ith just weeks befoit at ceremonies mah anniversary as pope. 83-year-old pontiff k- address the crowd all in an audio niesss i he spoke with a % id slurred his words- ns of the Parkinson’s has had for years, n sorry for not being w hn Paul said. “Icanyw iy heart and 1 bless w ection.” pontiff was to have ft m his vacation home3 iandolfo, south of Re, m City to greet thousmis aithful and tourist.8'! ors advised against ik r he came down witi ntestinal indisposiliot afternoon, the Vatia] statement. am sorry for not ing with you. I ry you all in my t and I bless you 'th affection. — Pope John I Sports The Battalion A&M outlasts Colorado in 5 By Pete Burks THE BATTALION After taking No. 7 Nebraska to the wire in Lincoln last week, the Texas A&M volley ball team was bound and detenu ined not to let another close one slip through their col lective fingers. Facing a very green but tena cious Colorado Buffalo team, the Aggies fought their way to victory in a back-and- forth. five game match. The Buffaloes came charging out of the gates in game one with a blistering .341 hitting percentage compared to a woeful 179 for the No. 25 Aggies, leading to a 30-24 Colorado win. However, the Aggies were not deterred by defeat in game one, coming back to win two close games in a row (30-28,30-28) before Colorado forced a decisive game five with a 30-26 win in game four. Similar to the other four games Wednesday, the fifth game came down to the wire. Only with some crucial serves and timely blocks were the Aggies able to it out in the end. The Aggies (9-3, 1 -1 Big 12) were outhit again by the Buffaloes .290 to .209, and when the two teams switched sides, the Buffs had the upper hand, leading 8-7. Unfortunately for Colorado (9-4, 1 -2 Big 12), A&M sophomore outside hitter Laura Jones helped put the game on ice with some well-placed serves, leading the Aggies to an adrenaline-pumping 15-13 victory. “We were extremely pleased to pull out the victory,” said Aggie coach Laura Corbelli. “This win was huge for us, especially because we won at home. 1 felt we came out more fired up in the fifth game because we didn’t want this one to get away. Laura (Jones) went up and powered the ball, and it really helped us slow down their offense.” Perhaps the catalyst for the Aggie win was junior middle blocker Kendra Felder. Felder had a career night, scoring a career high 16 kills with an incredible .500 hitting percentage. “I was furious when we lost the first game,” Felder said. “I felt that the team was looking for a spark, and so 1 figured, ‘why not me?’ From that point on, I just poured my heart Page I B • Thursday, September 25, 2003 Nebraska hopes to continue rolling Texas A&M outside hitter Carol Price (second from game one Wednesday night. The win for the Aggies into it, and luckily, we came out on top.” As for Colorado, the close loss no doubt stung. However, on the bright side for the Buffaloes, they picked up some much-need ed road game experience in a hostile envi ronment; The story of the night for Colorado was the play of sophomore middle blocker Allie Griffin who was a one-woman jugger naut, recording 27 kills and a hefty .351 hit ting percentage. John C. Livas • THE BATTALION left) Celebrates with her teammates after a kill in was their first in the Big 1 2 and ninth this season. For Colorado coach Pi’i Aiu, taking the Aggies to a fifth game regardless of the out come was encouraging due to the number of young players on his team. “One good thing about youth is that young players are too stupid to know that a place like A&M is a very tough environment,” Aiu said. “We’ve done a good job playing through the middle of games. We just have to get our kids to play to the end as well.” A fter a wild weekend in which four top-10 teams went down in the same day, including two against the non-BCS Mid American Conference, the under dogs of col lege football have served notice to the BCS big boys that anybody is fair game. When No. 15 Nebraska cruises into Hattiesburg, Miss., tonight, Southern Mississippi will be looking for the same result. Nebraska will be riding a wave of confidence after begin ning its season 3-0, including big wins against Oklahoma State and Penn State. Thanks to the resurgence of its leg endary Blackshirt defense, Nebraska is giving up a measly eight points per game to lead the nation in points allowed, and has only allowed an impressive total of 190 rushing yards in three games combined. Led by junior linebacker and Butkus award candidate Barrett Ruud, the Blackshirts will be looking to continue their domi nance by shutting down the air attack of Southern Mississippi. However, Nebraska has had the added advantage of playing at home in front of a supportive home crowd. M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg will be anything but friendly. With the expectation of a raucous capacity crowd of 33,000, Nebraska should be well aware of the danger it could face at Southern Miss. Although the Cornhuskers won their first three games, their offense has resembled “The Little Engine That Could” rather than a BIG NOTEBOOK Pete Burks freight train that steam- rolls oppo nents as it has in years past. It could be a recipe for disaster if quarterback Jammal Lord and company can’t get it going because Southern Miss has a history of stingy defenses, and this year is no different. With senior linebacker and leading tackier Rod Davis (34 tackles, 3 tackles for loss) lead ing the way, there is no doubt the Golden Eagles will be out for BCS blood with a side order of national respect. Texas Tech looks for improvement versus Ole Miss Meanwhile, elsewhere in the state of Mississippi, Texas Tech (2-1) will march into Oxford to take on the Ole Miss Rebels (2- 1) in a battle of high-octane offenses at 6 p.m. on Saturday. The Red Raiders will take the field with new senior signal caller B.J. Symons at the helm. Last weekend against a top-25 North Carolina State team, Symons torched the Wolfpack secondary to the tune of 586 yards passing to set a new Big 12 record. However, as the say ing goes, defense wins champi onships, as evidenced by Tech’s See Big 12 on page 3B nal Angelo Sodano, D iecretary of state, sjxt half at the audience,® along with the cm* i Paul delivered his Sodano asked it John Paul recovtf il papa!” or “Longfc ! ” people in the crow atican said the mild,” and an Joaquin I John Paul would toi coming schedule, ft moving back to ll> >n Friday from and meeting withll* of Philippines, al Arroyo, on :rowd in the Vatic* n only heard the pope but some satellite t^ cations broadcast to :e. The pope—dress* al white robe — sah chapel at and occasion® p as he spoke. Wednesday, the t fews Vatican empto) work at the ( residence in a p the participants the residence sap 1 : lad held up well don 1 : ng, which lasted o'* ed from page k instead of the 1° coming in next J 1 ; ; to do something^ should grow onf oing,” Impullitti sa |f s good, but I think" focus on what tlP loing.” said he knows to always occurring 1 J University Presito . Gates is working 1 this change, is finished with to son,” Josefy said.'' ;lti nning shoes laced 1 to go.” V kre X Welcome Back Students! Visit any one of our three convenient locations and stock up on all your favorites for Back to School! Full line deli featuring Boar's Head, Pharmacies, In-Store Banking, Fresh Seafood, Floral Department, Nature's Market. Kegs available only at the S.W. Pkwy. location. NOW ACCEPTING AGGIE BUCKS! Lottery • Money Orders • Secure Touch and Pay • Open 24 Hours Kroger Plus Card Savings Bring your Prescription to Kroger and get FREE GROCERIES! I FShopP er 14 TO 16 Oz.Pkg. Rope Style Hiilshire Farm Smoked Sausage Buy One, Get One Free! w/coupons below Premium 5 Lb. Bag Russet Potatoes (krooerj ■ 1 ' VALUABLE PHARMACY COUPON $ 5 00 Kroger B Gift Certificate Any New Prescription and your Kroger Plus Card Coupon valid thru Dec. 31, 2003. 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