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Show The Utah Statesman \WMonday, Sept 16,2006 Trading spaces: Aggie coaches to face alma mater BY SAMMY HISLOP Assistant Sports Editor Sign Up Today For your Student and SAVE at *-?.. FOOD & DRUG STORES The card is absolutely FREE! Sign-up takes about ONE MINUTE! Enjoy the benefits INSTANTLY! When the No. 16 BYU Cougars volleyball team visits the Spectrum Tuesday night to take on USU, each member of the Aggie coaching staff will be in the opposite space they were last season. USU Head Coach Grayson DuBose and assistants Shawn Olmstead and Sahara Castillo each were part of BYU's volleyball program last year and for several years before that. DuBose graduated from BYU in 1993 and worked as assistant volleyball coach with the program from 2003 to 2006. Olmstead was libero for the Cougar men's team from 2001 to 2004, graduating from BYU as well. Castillo was a member of the Cougar women's team from 2003 to 2005. She is also a BYU grad. No question the Aggies will be familiar with their arch nemesis from the south. What will it be like for the USU coaching staff? Both DuBose and Olmstead denied there being any bitterness or awkwardness in their switching sides. Both could joke about when asked the difference between being an Aggie now after once being a Cougar. "I think the shade of blue is a little different," said Olmstead, who helped the Cougars win national cham- pionships in 2001 and 2004, as well as a national runner-up finish in 2003. "I think it's darker." In more serious tones, both he and DuBose know well the challenge that awaits their team. "We were successful (at ' BYU), obviously, but I'm a part of this program now," Olmstead said. "My heart's into this program. I want to beat them just as bad as any of the girls that don't have any affiliation with BYU. "It's gonna be interesting to see them on the other side of the net. It'll be funny to see the 'BYU' for the first time on their jerseys. The/re always good. We're gonna do the best we can. The Utah game showed that these girls just aren't going to give up. " The Cougars, like the Ute team the Aggies lost to last Friday, carry with them a Top 25 ranking. That's not to mention that BYU's volleyball program is the third all-time winningest in the country (981 wins) behind SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - After a poor performance in Utah's season-opening loss, quarterback Brett Ratliff opened the second game against Northern Arizona by misfiring on four of five passes. But he found his rhythm with two long pass plays in the second quarter, and the Utes were off to a 45-7 victory. "We struggled last week and came into this game slow, but I never doubted," Ratliff said after throwing three touchdowns in the second half Saturday. "We made a couple of plays and started rolling and we got more emotional. There was more passion," he said. Indeed, after a 22-yard pass to Bradon Godfrey and a 34-yarder to Freddie Brown, Ratliff looked like the quarterback who led Utah to victories last season over Brigham Young and Georgia Tech. He completed 17 of 27 passes for 299 yards and no interceptions. Utah (l-l) gained 512 yards on offense and scored on seven consecutive possessions. Godfrey caught four passes for 80 yards, including an acrobatic third-quarter touchdown that forced him to leave the game with a sprained ankle. Derrick Richards had four catches for 79 yards and a score, while Marquis Wilson had four receptions for 72 yards and another touchdown. "They are out of my doghouse now," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said of his receivers, who were forced to eat their pregame meal after other players and staff. A 25-yard pass to Kenny Mahone from Jason Murrietta in the first quarter gave the Lumberjacks (0-2) their only lead of the game. "We tried and tried to stick together, but we couldn't hold them back any longer," Mahone said. The Utes posted only 39 yards of offense in the first quarter, then scored on their three possessions in the second quarter. Throughout the first quarter, Whittingham urged . Ratliff and the Utes to settle .' down. The quarterback got ,. the message and completed ~ passes to all areas of the field. ', "Rat played great. He led . us and we played the way we're capable of playing," Whittingham said. With the game tied, Northern Arizona recovered , a fumble by Utah's Darryl Poston at its 7-yard-line. But the call was overturned, the .;f Utes kept the ball and Mike , Liti rushed for a 1-yard touchdown to put his team ahead 14-7. Northern Arizona's Alex ..Watson, who caught 11 passes for 206 yards and two touch- downs against Arizona State, „ had three short receptions ' .• on the same series in the first quarter but did not catch another pass. Come play Northern Utah's Best-Kept Secret. 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Hopefully I can get •' off crutches on Monday and after that I think it's gonna be an ease-back-into-it thing. Who knows, maybe it'll be /. some crazy thing and I might, play on Tuesday." -sbkislop@cc.2isu.edu Utes find rhythm to down N. Arizona Stud^it *Excludes alcohol, tobacco, prescriptions, fuel, postage stamps, money orders and other items prohibited by law. UCLA and Missouri State. It has certainly been a steep learning curve for an Aggie team that features a new coaching staff and seven ; new players. Playing NCAA tournament-sawy teams to '.' start out the season presents '' a unique challenge. "It is what it is," DuBose said. "You just have to go play 'em and see what hap- -' pens. Anything can happen. (BYU) is nationally ranked. •* We'll prepare and see what we can do against them. They're a lot bigger than us and more physical." 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