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Show Friday, Oct. 9, 2009 Page 8 FridaySports Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.aggietownsquare.com Volleyball falls in four sets Sophomore opposite side hitter Emily Kortsen was red hot in the turning point second set for the Aggies with one ace, five kills and one block. Fresno After two consecutive home wins State held the stand-out player of this the Aggie women’s volleyball team got season for the Aggies, sophomore outshredded on the road Thursday night side hitter Liz McArthur to one kill in by the Bulldogs of Fresno State (19-25, the set. 25-15, 20-25, 13-25). With the loss the The third set didn’t look good for Aggies move to 2-3 in Western Athletic the Aggies, who were down Conference play and 10-7 on the season, 13-18, until DuBose called while FSU moves to 9-7 on the season a timeout. After the break and 2-2 in WAC play. USU went on “We played a little a 4-1 run frantic,” said Aggie to bring head coach Grayson • USU falls to 2-3 the score DuBose. “We really within in WAC play didn’t control the ebbs two at • USU suffered its 17-19. and flows very well. We were way too high- worst set loss in The strung and not our even Bulldogs nearly a year in selves.” however, the fourth set For only the fifth fought time this season the to keep the • Junior middle Aggies lost the first set. lead and blocker Katie USU’s 19-25 first set won the set loss was the first time Astle had a team- 20-25. USU this season the Aggies high .778 hitting hit a .182 (12have been sub-20 in the 6-33) percent percentage first set. The Aggies for the set while struggled to get into a • Junior Chelsea the Bulldogs hit rhythm with only eight a .289 (16-5-38) perkills to the Bulldog’s 11 Fowles had 31 cent. and only one ace while assists with nine The fourth set turned FSU had five. USU’s digs and five kills out to be the worst set struggles with the ball loss for the Aggies • Liz McArthur showed in its hitting since they played percentage, hitting a New Mexico led the team in .030 (8-7-33) while FSU kills with 11 to go State, 90 sets hit a .114 (11-7-35) and nearly a with 10 errors The second set for year ago when USU was day and night they lost 12-25. The from the first, as the team never got into Ags went up 7-1 quickly and never the groove during the fourth set, looked back. The Ags led by 10 twice DuBose said. in the game, first at 17-7 and next to Junior middle blocker Katie Astle end the set at 25-15. USU hit a .292 had a team high .778 hitting percent(9-2-24) while FSU hit a .057 (11-9-35). age with seven kills and no errors on while McArthur finished with a team-high 11 kills with 10 errors on 35 attempts for a season low .029. Junior middle blocker Shantell Durrant had five kills and one error on eight attempts for a .500 hitting percentage to go along with a team high five block assists. “It was a tough loss,” Dubose said, “but now we’re focused on Nevada. We’re going to concentrate on those guys and make sure we can continue to improve. We did a few good things mentally in this loss. We kept fighting and kept trying and just never quit so we’re going to take that and go beat Nevada on Saturday.” USU stays on the road, traveling straight from the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif., to the Virginia Street Gym in Reno, Nev., to face the 5-11 University of Nevada Wolfpack. By CONNOR JONES sports senior writer Fast Stats – c.h.j@aggiemail.usu.edu nine attempts. Fellow junior Chelsea Fowles had 31 assists on the night with nine digs and five kills, hitting a .444 (5-1-9). Kortsen finished the match with seven kills and six errors on 31 attempts for a .031 hitting percentage PATRICK ODEN photo Aggies travel to take on Aggies UTAH STATE’S ROBERT Turbin chases a loose football during the Aggies’ Sept. 26 win over Southern Utah. FILE photo By TIM OLSEN sports editor For the second straight year, the USU football team is hoping to start WAC play off on the right foot. Unlike last year, however, the Aggies will have to accomplish that task on the road. Saturday the Aggies travel to Las Cruces, New Mexico, to another set of Aggies – the Aggies of New Mexico State. The game will mark the second time this season that USU has played another team nicknamed “Aggies,” having played at Texas A&M on Sept. 19. “Our first game in the WAC we’re definitely trying to go out there and prove a point and let people know that we aren’t going to be pushovers,” said senior wide receiver Omar Sawyer. “We’re going to go out there and fight every play, every snap, so I definitely think it’s a statement game.” With a new head coach, a new system and a new attitude in 2009, the Aggies first conference game may indeed by a statement game, but USU head coach Gary Andersen dismissed the idea that the game against NMSU is a must win. “I don’t think any game is a must win. It’s not like if we win this game something is going to happen, we lose this game something is going to happen,” Andersen said. “But for us, it is a very, very important game – it’s an opening WAC game.” The keys for the Aggies this week come down to two things: If USU’s high-powered offense can get back on pace after a tough game at Brigham Young, and if USU’s defense can slow down NMSU’s power run game. “It’s no secret that we’ve struggled stopping the run, and we’ve challenged ourselves as coaches,” Andersen said. “I’m highly involved with those defensive linemen, and we’ve challenged ourselves this week as players and coaches to be able to step up and stop the run.” On the season, New Mexico State (2-3) is averaging 148 rushing yards per game compared to an average of only 54 yards per game in 2008. Like USU, the Newmags have a new head coach this season, and DeWayne Walker’s focus has been to establish a dominant running game. That power running game has been a big part of what Walker called creating a brand and bringing respectability to New Mexico State – a program that hasn’t been to a bowl game in 49 years. “We’re going to have to be very physical, and we’re going to have to be assignment sound up front,” Andersen said. “This will be a big challenge for our defensive linemen, I think it will be a defining moment for how we can play defense the remainder of the season and we’ll see exactly how physical we can be.” Another similarity the southern Aggies have with USU is an improved product on the field. This season’s NMSU squad is not the same team that the Aggies beat 47-2 at the end of last season. After winning all of three games last year, the Newmags have already picked up two wins in 2009, including a thrilling 20-17 victory of MWC foe and instate rival New Mexico. “It’s really important (to get a good start in the WAC), so teams have to catch us,” said junior safety Rajric Coleman, who had 13 tackles and an interception against BYU. “We’ll be 1-0 in the WAC so the teams that lost have to come catch us now.” A win Saturday would definitely give the Aggies an upper hand in the conference, with their next two conference games coming at home against Nevada and Louisiana Tech, who are a combined 3-3. “We’ve got the whole mentality of we’re trying to go out there and win the WAC, so we’re focused right now,” said Sawyer. With a win at New Mexico State Saturday, the Aggies would be off to a good start. – t.olsen@aggiemail.usu.edu TouchBase Service Ace: Ags roll over competition BY USU ATHLETICS Utah State women’s tennis took charge in the opening day of the Utah State Open, Thursday. Action took place at the USU Outdoor Tennis Courts between Weber State, Idaho State and Utah State. The tournament will continue Friday and Saturday. The final round in flight A will be USU junior Hailey Swenson facing teammate freshman Jaclyn West. Swenson advanced after defeating ISU’s Rilee Moorehead, 6-0, 6-3, and WSU’s Keya Jenkins, 6-1, 7-5. West advances after defeating both the Bengal’s Lisel Lewis, 6-4, 6-1, and Greyce Farias, 6-2, 7-3. The final round will be played Friday at 1:30 p.m. Another battle of the Aggies will take place in the flight B final round, Friday at 1:30 p.m., between junior Taylor Perry and freshman Kristina Voytsekhovich. Perry proceeds after victories over ISU’s Sophie Dang, 4-6, 6-2, 10-4, and WSU’s Caroline Drugge, 7-5, 6-0. In the quarterfinal round, Voytsekhovich progressed after a bye to defeat fellow teammate, sophomore Carla Limon. USU rounded out advancement to the finals in all three flights with senior Britney Watts taking on the Wildcats’ Elsje Beneke at 1:30 p.m., in flight C. Watts battled through three sets to defeat USU freshman Jenny Phillips, 6-3, 2-6, 10-4, after having a bye in the quarterfinal round. Softball ends fall season against Utah BY USU ATHLETICS Utah State softball closes out the fall season hosting Utah on Friday at 3 p.m. at LaRee and LeGrand Softball Field. USU also took on the Utes on Sept. 24 in Salt Lake City. The Aggies also played in the Utah Valley Tournament this fall, taking on Snow College, College of Southern Idaho and Salt Lake City Community College. Utah State’s only other home game came against Weber State on Oct. 3. Carissa Kalaba was named head coach of the Aggie softball team on July 15. Kalaba (Cal-uhba) comes to Utah State after five seasons at Biola University in La Mirada, Calif. Biola is part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). While at Biola, Kalaba led the Eagles to five straight playoff appearances, the longest streak in the program’s 17-year history. Her teams also finished no lower than fifth in the tough Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). |
