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Show Ooc^900coe 00 LVBOWL.COM ' VBOWL.COM ?NI LVBOWL.COM BY TALON CHAPPELL /STAFF WRITER A LVBOWL.COM 04 - LVBOWL.COM PHOTO COURTESY OF MARSH STARKS fter so much speculation on the Pac-12's bowl scenarios and the Utes' possible bowl locations, Utah fans will have to take a quick drive down 1-15 South to watch their Utes go bowling for the first time since 2011. After missing out on a bowl game the previous two seasons, the 8-4 Utes accepted an invitation to play in the 2014 Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl on December 20 against former Mountain West Conference foe Colorado State. "Its good timing for our fans, it won't interfere with the Christmas holiday, and it's accessible travel-wise, so we're excited about that" said Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham. "Colorado State is a good football team this year. They have three terrific weapons on offense ... it's an explosive offense, so it will be a big challenge for us, but we're excited" The primary objective for the Utes this season was to return to the college football postseason, and they will now reap the rewards from their hard-fought 2014 season by making the trip players and coaches have been striving for since the end of the 2011 Sun Bowl. "We've been out of the bowl picture for a couple of years, and it's great to be back and playing again in the postseason," Whittingham said. "One of the real big benefits that I talk about every year we go to a bowl game is the extra development time for the younger players ... it's almost like another spring ball for them" As for the seniors, Whittingham said he was "elated" for them to be able to return to a bowl game after a frustrating two-year break. "That's why you want to get to a bowl game — at least that's why I want to get to a bowl game — is for the seniors" Whittingham said. "It's all about the players, and for the seniors to have that experience in their final season is a big deal for me, and it's a big deal for them" One of those seniors who will be looking to leave the program going out on top is tight end Westlee Tonga. He said Sunday that returning to the postseason after the kind of season the Utes have had is the most rewarding part of the entire experience. "Its great,"Tonga said. "It's been an uphill battle for the past couple years, and finally getting over the hump, getting to a bowl game, /ROYAL PURPLE Las VEGAS BOWL PHOTO BY CONOR BARRY 8 { THECHRONY I NEWS I OPINION I ARTS I SPORTS I MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2014 } SEASON ENDS AS being able to go to Vegas, it's really a pleasure" Tonga will be making his second trip to the Las Vegas Bowl after the Utes traveled there during his freshman season in 2010. That game ended in a rare bowl game loss for the Utes as Boise State rode out of the Nevada desert with the victory, but the entire experience left an imprint on Tonga's memory. "It's really fun,"Tonga said of the bowl itself. "The Vegas bowl was a great memory for me, so to be able to get to go back with this group of guys means a lot to me because I know the fun that we have, I know how well they treat us there and there's a lot of stuff to do. The attractions on the strip that you get to take a part in are second to none" Tonga also noted that it's important to him and to all of the seniors to have a large amount of traveling support from Salt Lake City down to Las Vegas. "We want all of the fans to be out there, and I'm sure they will,"Tonga said. "I'm sure the MUSS will be out there to show their support as always. We have a strong fan presence wherever we go, whether it's Michigan or Stanford or wherever ... I'm sure it will be the same that week:" Another senior who will be making his final appearance in a Utah uniform in Las Vegas is defensive end and team captain Nate Orchard. He's gone through all of the ecstatic highs and depressing lows throughout his time at the U, and he said that to end it like this is a great accomplishment. "It's an amazing feeling" Orchard said. "We've worked so hard, and to not be able to go to a bowl game the last few years was frustrating, but to go out with a bang my senior year, be able to go to Vegas, have ourselves a good time and play a really good opponent is exciting" Orchard added that he's focusing on his teammates, as well as Colorado State, but that leaving the field at Sam Boyd Stadium after the game could be a tough time. "Once I leave here it's going to hit home. I might even get a little emotional in front of my wife" Orchard said. "But the time I spent here was awesome, and I wouldn't take back a second of it:' t.chappell@chonicle.utah.edu @TalonChappell CLOSE WITH LOSS BY BEN JASAREVIC /STAFF WRITER PHOTO BY CHRIS AYERS valiant comeback from No. 20 Utah volleyball in the second round of the NCAA tournament fell just short in the fifth set against No. 11 Nebraska, dropping the match 3-2. After getting past Kansas State in the first round, the Utes fell behind 2-0 to the Cornhuskers before winning sets three and four to force a fifth and decisive set. In that set, Nebraska woke up and won 15-11. "I think they outplayed us in the fifth set, that's the bottom line" said head coach Beth Launiere. A close first set created a tight affair between the two squads. Nebraska took the biggest lead of the first set at 20-16, but Utah fought back to tie the set at 23 apiece. At that pivotal point, freshman Adora Anae served the ball into the net for a service error, and at set point, the Cornhuskers would get the kill to clinch the first set. The second set was almost identical to the first, with Nebraska leading 2321 when the Utes brought in defensive specialist Tess Sutton to serve. Sutton's first serve was a good one, and it ended with a Shelby Dalton kill after a rally by the two teams. At 23-22, Sutton served the ball long for another service error on Utah and it set up the Cornhuskers for set point. Nebraska would get a service ace, clinching the set 25-22. In the third set, Utah bounced back with its tournament lives on the line. The Utes were up 24-20 late and looking to close out the set. Junior Kendall Cygan had a service error at that point to put Nebraska within two points, but A Utah would hold off the Cornhuskers' late-set rally to keep its hopes alive 25-23. In the fourth set, it was all Utah until a scary moment flipped the scene. The Utes were up 16-10 when senior Kalee Kirby dove forward to try and dig a tip shot from Nebraska. As Kirby hit the floor, her momentum carried her legs and the rest of her body over her head but did not complete the flip, forcing her body into an awkward position. Kirby was slow to get up with the athletic trainers from both schools at her side but was able to leave the floor under her own power. However, it was clear the senior was in genuine pain. With the injury to Kirby leaving the team down a setter, Launiere had to switch to a formation that is foreign to the Utes. Utah has played in a 6-2 formation all season long but changed things up to a 5-1 formation. The new formation forced setters to play at the net, which they normally don't have to do with the 6-2 formation. With Cygan having to play at the net, Nebraska took advantage by attacking her multiple times as the 5-foot-9-inch junior couldn't get up to block the shots of the much taller Cornhusker hitters. Despite the formation change, the Utes still won the set comfortably, 25-17. Utah took the floor for the fifth set still in a 5-1 formation as Kirby was in the locker room getting checked out by the medical staff. Nebraska got off to a 4-0 start in set five and forced Launiere into an early timeout. The Utes were down 6-3 when they made a substitution, and to the surprise of the crowd, Kirby was coming back in alongside Makenzie Moea'i for Cygan and Dalton. "I was totally surprised that she came back" Launiere said. "It was a muscular spasm:' Launiere usually pairs Dalton with Kirby and Moea'i with Cygan in the 6-2 formation, but because she didn't know she'd get Kirby back, she had to choose between Dalton and Moea'i, as there was only one spot in the rotation. Naturally, Dalton, who had 16 kills at the time compared to Moea'i's five, was the selection. With all of the unfamiliarity on the Utes' side of the net, Utah still came back within a single point at 9-8 before Nebraska made a 3-0 run to pull away to 12-8. The Utes looked to fight back one more time but finally ran out of juice, dropping the set, match and season 15-11. "I was proud of our effort, I was proud of how we hung in there and came back" Launiere said. "We absolutely believed that we could win that match, and statistically it showed that we were right there with them. In fact, we played much better in most respects." With the loss, Utah's season ends, but not after a magical ride. The Utes won eight of their last 10 matches, including an NCAA tournament firstround victory. b.jasarevic@chronicle.utah.edu @Beniasarevic GAM ES GIMMICKS GOTCHAS JUST AN AWESOME RATE! Visa Platinum Cards starting as low as 6.99% APR =illi=" AMERICA FIRST CREDIT UNION eliouct to 4uppoitt omit (feel! ftrnP |
