OCR Text |
Show Gals seek title It's conceivable that the toughest part of Southern Utah State College's upcoming volleyball road trip will not be the opposition; rather it could be the road. A quick glance at the map of Colorado will confirm that supposition. What the Thunderbird women are attempting to do in the next seven davs is simple: (1) win their final three matches of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, thus winning the Western Division of the league with a perfect 8-0 record; and (2) gain a measure of revenge and some status by performing well in the Colorado College Tournament. The combination of time allotments and distances to travel will make the accomplishment of those goals difficult. SUSC starts the action Thursday night at Durango, Colo, when it tests Fort Lewis, probably the toughest of its RMAC opponents. That match starts at 7:30 p.m. Then, the next day (and nearly halfway across the state) the 'Birds will battle in the Colorado College Tournament at Colorado Springs. Action in that meet will end Saturday evening. All matches are non-conference. non-conference. Monday (after a Sunday rest) SUSC will be 162 miles down 1-25 and IUS 160 for an important RMAC match against Adams State in Alamosa. Starting time is 4 p.m. and SUSC Coach Joy Peterson is hoping that the match doesn't drag on. A quick "Three gamer" would be fine with her, because there's another match scheduled down the road that day. What Peterson and her players must do now is hustle on up the highway to meet a 9 p.m. date with Western State College in Gunnison, Colo. That match is also an RMAC affair. So much for the challenge of the road;-here's road;-here's a look at the opposition: op-position: "We feel that under normal conditions, Fort Lewis would probably be the toughest of our conference opponents. op-ponents. However, because of the length of the trip, especially by Monday night, we figure that any one of the three could beat us," Peterson says. In earlier meetings, SUSC whipped Fort Lewis (15-12, 15-8, 15-10), Adams State 15-6, 15-4 10-15, 15-17, 15-4), and Western State ( 15-8, 15-5, 15-8 in Cedar City matches. mat-ches. The Thunderbirds have also beaten their other divisional opponent, op-ponent, Mesa College, twice to earn a 5-0 RMAC mark going into the tough road trip. SUSC started this week with a 13-4 overall record. Last week the Brigham Young University JV squad upset the 'Birds (15-10, 11-15, 15-6, 15-9) in Cedar City, but SUSC came back to dump Mesa (15-13, 15-6, 15-5). "We've had some letdowns let-downs lately that have nurt us," Peterson says. " "I still feel that if we play to our potential, we could go unbeaten in our conference. We'd also like to have another shot at Colorado College . They have a good squad, but we didn't play very well when we met them over there earlier." Colorado College broke a 10-match winning string that SUSC had going earlier this season by whipping the T-Birds 15-4, 15-7, 15-8. |