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Show Champ! SUSC spikers do it again CEDAR CITY - Six straight championships! For any team to win a championship is a great feat but to win six in a row is even greater, and that's exactly what the Southern Utah State Colllege volleyball team accomplished last week when it won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship for the sixth straight year, even though it did lose a tough one for the District 7 championship. "Each one gets harder, but it's still very exciting to win," coach Joy Peterson said. Peterson has good cause to celebrate. In her seven years as coach, the team has won the championship cham-pionship six times and amassed an amazing record of 52 league wins and only two losses. The Thunderbirds traveled to Denver Peterson was pleased with her whole :f, team and had high praise for Colleen Hawkins and Paula Burgoyne. ;: "Burgoyne really dominated the front : : line with her blocks," Peterson said. "When she blocks middle the other ; team has to go over her, around her or : away from her." Some of the others who helped the T- I birds earn the big championship were Anita Green, Cheryl Lamb and Sally -' Gines. ''Gines js a little smaller than some of the girls on the front line but does a good job on the backrow," Peterson remarked. With the RMAC title safely in their grasp the T-birds then played a couple of matches against Western State and Southern Colorado before taking on Metro State for the District 7 championship. " Each one gets harder, but it's still very exciting to win," says coach Joy Peterson, and she should know. to take on Colorado Mines for the championship, and Mines wanted nothing less than to upset the defending champ Thunderbirds. Mines probably thought they were well on their way to doing just that after beating the T-birds in the first of the best of five match by the score of 15-8. Little did they realize the beating they would take in the remaining games. The Thunderbirds really got things going after the loss. "The girls were a little travel worn but they got it going and started pulling together," Peterson said. The T-birds did more than just pull together as they whipped Mines in the remaining three games by scores of 15-4, 15-4, 15-6, and 15-4. At one point in the last and deciding game the T-birds led 14-0. The team was forced to take a lengthy trip to Portales, N. M., to play Metro, a trip that took its toll on the : champs. Previously Southern Utah had split matches with Metro State and entered the tournament as the second seed with Metro the third place team. '. The Thunderbirds had their work cut out for them playing Metro losing 6-15 in the first game. The T-birds got a break in the second game winning 15-13 However Metro came back to defeat them by 15-6 and 15-5 scores to capture the District 7 title. : "We were all a little tired and our ;! hitters didn't hit too well," Peterson said. "I still believe we had the best team at that tournament," she added. |