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Show 9 Wednesday, Sept. 13,2006 Take Note: Men's tennis will compete in the Utah Classic in Provo on Thursday. 797-1761 sports@statesman.usu.edu Heated rivalry ends in Aggie loss Down I Line [5_QQ[tsJNote5_ _ J BY SAMMY HISLOP Assistant Sports Editor In case you were wondering, there is a good reason the BYU Cougars volleyball team is ranked 19th in the nation. They showed it to 749 fans at the Spectrum TYiesday night as they out-hit the Utah State Aggies .291 to .115 and swept them, 3-0 (32-30, 30-18, 30-26). The Aggies (5-5) were very close to taking game one away from their rival from the south, even one point away from it. But BYU's 6-{oot-4^ middle blocker LIndsy Hartsock recorded a kill that was followed by two more points to take game one and the air out of the Aggies. The Cougars (8-1) out-hit the Aggies .621 to .147 in the second frame. "With our young team, we have to be better under pressure than we are," Aggie head coach Grayson DuBose said. "That's the thing that stands out most in my mind. Under pressure BYU got better, and we didn't...Little errors here and there bite you in the butt a little bit." Even so, the Aggies did come into game one with an energy that helped them keep the lead for the majority of the game against a prominent opponent. USU middle blocker Melissa Larson hit an impressive .333 in the first period of play. "I really don't know what happened between game one and game two, but we definitely came down," said Larson, who recorded a season-hgh nine kills, three digs, and a .471 hitting percentage. "We started game two not like we should have. We were just all. .. I don't know. We were just excited (in game one and then had a letdown)." The Cougars quickly took the game-two lead, at one point leading by as many as twelve. Hartsock, along with teammates Rachel Dyer and Erica Lott, combined in game two for 14 kills. "We kind of had a letdown," DuBose said. "That's the hallmark of a young team." The third game started much like the second. The Aggies fell behind by as many as five (3-8) early. But a kill by outside hitter Monarisa Ale sparked a 5-0 run that helped the Aggies capture a 13-12 lead. Larson, Ale, and freshman outside hitter Hailey Jeppson were the catalysts of a run a few minutes later that gave the Aggies an 18-14 lead. It was neck-and-neck the remainder of the final game, but Tony Pennyman dismissed from football team Trevor Niehon/ctn@ccusu.edu AGGIE OUTSIDE HITTER AMANDA NlELSON, RIGHT goes up for a kill against BYU's Rachel Dyer Tuesday night in the Spectrum as teammate Danielle Taylor, left, looks on. The 19thranked Cougars swept the Aggies 32-30,30-18,30-26 in front of 749 fans. the Cougars had enough to pull away. Nielson recorded a team-high 12 kills for USU, to go along with eight digs and three blocks, while Jeppson added nine kills and five digs. BYU's Chelsea Goodman tallied 12 kills, 13 digs, and three blocks. Dyer had 14 kills, eight digs, and hit a very efficient .650 on the night. Lott recorded 12 kills, four digs, and five blocks. Their height advantage gave the Aggies fits. Aside from Dyer, Lott, who leads her team with a .352 hitting average and nearly five kills per game, stands 6 foot 1 inches. "I think that challenged Utah State and got us out of some situations that were not progressing well for us," BYU head coach Jason Watson said. "We have a lot of respect for Grayson and his team. He is doing LOGAN, Utah (AP) - Utah State receiver Tony Pennyman was kicked off the team Tuesday, a day after he was arrested for an altercation with his girlfriend. Pennyman was arrested after police were called to a domestic disturbance outside some off-campus student housing Monday afternoon, Logan Police Sgt. Bret Randall said. Officers booked him in jail on suspicion of domestic assault, a class B misdemeanor, after seeing "indications that there had been some physical altercation," Randall said. He was released after three hours. Pennyman was accused of grabbing, but not actually hitting the 18-year-old woman, and officers felt there was enough evidence to arrest him, Randall said. The police report is being turned over to the city prosecutor, who will decide whether to formally charge Pennyman. Pennyman served three days in jail two years ago for assault and interfering with a legal arrest. He also missed the first game of last season for an undisclosed team violation. Utah State coach Brent Guy issued a release Tuesday that said Pennyman had been dismissed from the Aggies. "This dismissal follows the basic procedures we have for repeat offenders," Guy said. "Tony knew his situation and did not comply." Pennyman had four catches for 49 yards in the Aggies' first two games this season, Pennyman, a senior from Hayward, Calif., has caught four passes for 49 yards in two games this year. He returned to the squad as USU's top wide out, having made 63 catches for 74-1 yards and five touchdowns in the 2005 season. Standings -•pi5 &£QfeboQrj3sOrWore Major Leaque Baseball AMERICAN LEAGUE • BYU CHALLENGE see page 10 State's best in '05 making an '06 Aggie impact found out I wasn't going to BYU, I chose USU." Assistant Sports Editor She listed two reasons. The chance to be part of one of the First was the good impression nation's best volleyball programs the Aggie coaching staff of Grayson in Provo was enticing, but wasn't DuBose, Shawn Olrnstead and meant to be. Sahara Castillo left on her. It was an interesting road that The second is the amount of time eventually ended in a choice to she would see on the court. become an Aggie for freshman out"If I went to the U, I didn't think side hitter Hailey Jeppson. I would be playing until I was a Her senior season (2005) at senior," Jeppson said. Pleasant Grove High School, she Her wish has been granted so far. was named the 5A Most Valuable She has started every game this seaPlayer by both the Desert Morning son for USU (5-5). News and the Salt Lake Tribune. The volleyball media guide preBYU (currently No. 19 in the dicted that Jeppson s high level of national polls) was not farfromher play in high school "should make her home, and in volleyball they are the transition into the Western Athletic third all-time winningest program Conference smoother," Statistics in the country. have backed that statement up. The Utes (No. 21), a team that Her impact has been immediate. has qualified for the NCAA tourna- Jeppson is averaging 2.83 kills per ment for the past eight seasons, cer- game (second on the team), 2.37 tainly are not far behind. digs per game (second), and .70 And the Aggies have, of late, seen blocks per game (fourth). success on the court, entering the "She's done a great job," DuBose second round of the NCAA post-sea- said. "She's learning to play colson tournament in 2000 (a season legiate volleyball. She's picked it up in which they were ranked as high pretty fast. The more comfortable as 18th in the nation) and 2001 (a she gets in the setting, at Utah State season in which they finished as the with school and the team, the better No. 21 team in the country). They she will become. It's kind of excitalso qualified for the postseason in ing. She is for sure an all-conference 2005. player by her senior year." How did Jeppson, the state's Though Jeppson is age-wise the MVP, make her choice? youngest person on the team (18 "I was signed at BYU," she said. "I and two months), her leadership has just didn't get in because of grades or something like that. I don't know. And then I talked to the (University of Utah). Pretty much all the schools • IMPACT see page 7 7 in Utah talked to me after they East L Pet NY Yankees 86 56 .606 GB - Boston 76 67 .531 10.5 Toronto 75 69 .521 12.0 Baltimore 62 81 .434 24.5 Tampa Bay 57 86 .399 29.5 BY SAMMY HISLOP Trevor Hiel$on/an@ccusu.edu HAILEY JEPPSON, a true freshman for USU out of Pleasant Grove, Utah, gets into a defensive stance Tuesday night in the Spectrum against BYU. Jeppson has been averaging 2.83 kills and 2.37 digs per game for the Aggies. W Central W L Pet GB Detroit 8 6 58 .597 -- Minnesota 84 59 .587 1.5 Chi White Sox 83 61 .576 3.0 Cleveland 68 74 .479 17.0 Kansas City West 54 90 .375 32.0 W L Oakland 82 61 .573 -- LA Angels 77 67 .535 5.5 Texas 73 71 .507 9.5 Seattle 6a Pet GB 75 .476 14.0 NATIONAL LEAGUE East w L Pet GB NY Mets 88 55 .615 — Florida 73 71 -507 15.5 Philadelphia 72 71 .503 16.0 Atlanta 69 74 .483 19.0 Washington Central 62 82 .431 26.5 W L Pet GB St. Louis 76 67 .531 - Cincinnati 71 72 .497 5.0 Houston 70 73 .490 6.0 Milwaukee 65 79 .451 11.5 Pittsburgh 59 Chi Cubs 57 87 .396 19.5 West 86 .407 18.0 W L Pet GB LA Dodgers 76 67 .531 . . San Diego 74 68 .521 1.5 San Francisco 72 71 -503 4.0 Arizona 68 76 .472 8.5 Colorado 67 76 .469 9.0 . |