THE RALLY IS ON Corbelli takes wait-and-see approach to new scoring system By Rusty Burson

Texas A&M volleyball coach Laurie Corbelli is quick to acknowledge that change – even to the game she loves and has devoted much of her life to – is sometimes good. On the other hand, Corbelli isn’t so certain this particular change falls into that "good" category.

Rally scoring will be unveiled for all Division I college games this years. It’s safe to say Corbelli isn’t actually rallying up support for the concept. At least not yet.

"I’m learning to like it, or at least trying to," Corbelli said. "It’s OK. But to me, it’s not that exciting. I think some people think it’s exciting because there’s a lot of scoring. Hopefully, I’ll see it that way one day.

Lauri and John Corbelli are beginning their ninth season at the helm of the A&M volleyball team.

"But I don’t think our game is boring. I’m not as convinced as the pro-rally scoring people are that it’s more exciting. I think too much is left to chance, and luck and refs, which already our game is suggestive enough. Those are probably my biggest complaints, yet it’s going to happen and we’re going to learn to handle it as best we can."

Rally scoring has been part of the college game since the mid-1990s, but it has only been used in the fifth and deciding game of matches. This year, however, rally scoring will be implemented into all games.

The difference from the side-out game is that in rally scoring a point is scored every time the ball is put into play. In the side-out scoring system, a team must be serving to score a point.

In rally scoring, however, the team receiving the serve can score a point as easily and quickly as the team that is serving.

It makes for much more scoring and much quicker accumulation of points. It’s the same system used in international play, but the college game will differ slightly. In international play, the winning team is the first to score 25 points. The first four games of a Division I college match will go to 30 points, while the fifth game will go to 15.

Corbelli says her biggest problem with the rally scoring system is that it seems to cheapen the points.

"The hard part for me is the earning part," she said. "I like the side out game because you earn the serve and then you earn that point. There’s not much left for chance, you either earn it or you don’t. In rally scoring, you can get so many points without earning them, so you don’t feel that momentum, you don’t feel the rush of scoring. It’s a different feel."

Corbelli says the rules change has had an influence on her practices and her team’s approach to every play.

"We put a lot more pressure on our players in practice now," she said. "There can’t be room for sloppy play at all in rally scoring. Every serve, every touch matters. The national team seems to be liking it now. They’ve been playing it since 1997, after the ’96 Olympics. They instituted it internationally and played in the 2000 Olympics, and I think they’re just used to it.

"In visiting with (former A&M star Stacy) Sykora and some of the other athletes, they’re just used to it. I think that’s really my problem with it, it’s just a matter of adjusting and getting used to it. I am an old-timer. I’ve been in the game for 25 years or so. At first, it was offensive to me to change our game that we’ve all grown to love and the aspects, and the uniqueness of earning each point. I don’t mind some of the changes they’ve made over the years.

"We’ve moved our serving area, we’ve changed to overhand digging. When I was a player you couldn’t take a ball like that on the first ball. Now it’s all over the place. There have been changes that I think have been good. But I’ll have to wait and see about this one."