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Show StatesmanSports Friday, Nov. 20, 2009 Page 9 Aggies take down Pack in final match By CONNOR JONES sports senior writer The Aggie volleyball team ended its season on a high note Thursday night with a four-set win over conference foe Nevada (24-26, 26-24, 25-16, 25-19). The Wolf Pack came into Thursday night's game winning their last three of four matches, two corning in straight sets while the Aggies entered losing three of their last four including their previous two home games. In the first set, the two teams traded 17 points, neither team obtaining a lead of more than one point until Nevada went up by four, 14-10. The Aggies fought back and led 20-18, only to have Nevada rally to tie the set at 24. The Wolf Pack scored the next two points to seal the hard-earned set lead. USU hit a .314 percentage in the set (15-435) while Nevada hit a .333 (19-5-42). The second set was another hard fought battle between the teams. USU matched the Wolf Pack's first-set 23-24 comeback victory with one of its own, scoring three consecutive points to bring the set tally even at one. The equalizer came with USU hitting a .250 (14-6-32) and UN hitting .194 (15-9-31). "You start realizing it's the last game of the season," sophomore Liz McArthur said. "Last time playing in the spectrum for eight months so you don't want to have any regrets." The Aggies seemed to take that thought to heart, coming into the third set swinging. USU led the entire set before putting Nevada away by nine points, 25-16. The fourth and final set was led by team captain, junior libero, Christine Morrill, who DuBose said made some unbelievable diving plays to keep the rally alive. "It wasn't just me doing it," Morrill said. "All of our girls were making efforts which helped me read the ball." The two teams again juggled the score between them, tying the set 11 times and switching the lead four times. From a 16-16 bottleneck, the Aggies went on a nine-to-three run to take the set and the match, 25-19. USU out hit the Wolf Pack .303 (14-4-33) to .182 (11-5-33) and .393 (14-3-28) to .069 (10-8-29) in the third and fourth sets, respectively. The Aggies finished with two more kills, four more service aces, 2.5 more team blocks and two more digs while Nevada finished with two fewer service errors and 10 more attack errors. Junior setter and co-captian Chelsea Fowles finished the night with five kills on six attempts with no errors for a .833 hitting percentage while junior middle blocker Shantell Durrant had eight kills on 12 attempts with one error for a .583 percentage. McArthur led the match with 21 kills. "We're looking forward to spring boarding this into a real successful senior season for five of our kids," Dubose said. "Five of our kids are going to be seniors next season, and they've meant a lot to our program so we're going to make sure we prepare everyone in the right ways to enable us to have a great season next year." With the win, the Aggies finish their season with a winning record of 15 wins with 14 losses, going 7-9 in Western Athletic Conference play. c.h.j@aggiemaiLusu.edu Christine Morrill, left, lunges for the ball while Liz McArthur, center, and Katie Astle, right, look on. Morrill's strong defensive play helped the Aggies take the three-set-to-one victory over the Wolf Pack of Nevada. Patrick Oden photo F Section A different point of view A lthough I'd love to write primarily about basketball this week, I just can't bring myself to do it with what is happening in Logan Friday night. Just for good measure though, kudos to the basketball team for pulling of a solid road win to open the season against Weber State. The play was plenty sloppy at times, but the Aggies made plays when they needed to. That hook shot that Nate Bendall sank three or four times was just beautiful. The clutch free throws by Brian Green were money, and Tyler Newbold was the man wearing the Superman cape for USU whenever they needed a play to be made. Now on to what I believe is most important this week. Back when the USU football schedule was released in April, I don't think I was the only person who had to do a double, triple or even quadruple take when I read that ESPN2 would be coming to Romney Stadium for a game that would be broadcast to the entire nation. Sure, it's another game that the worldwide leader in sports gets to showcase media darling Boise State, but regardless it's something we have not had in Logan for a long time. Even with all the basketball success we've had at USU, the last time one of the two primary ESPN networks came here for a game in the Spectrum was during the 2005-2006 season. For football it's been since the 1997 season that it was shown on ESPN. Needless to say, this is somewhat of a big deal. Now, it's obvious that since the Aggies blew the game against New Mexico State that football attendance among the students has dropped, despite USU having won two home games since then and taken a very good Nevada team down to the wire. Just for the record, Nevada has taken pretty much every other WAC team to the woodshed en route to its 6-0 record in WAC games. Regardless, the student turnout has been far from what it was at the opener. Am I saying that everybody should come out now because ESPN is here ... Well ... Normally I would stand up against fair-weather fandom but in this case, I'd really like for the USU student body to get out, wear blue and get crazy for the TV cameras. If nothing else it would serve as a forecast as to what our football crowd has the potential to be. It'll be cold, so bundle up. One thing to keep in mind is that when you're standing still and freezing cold at a football game, going crazy gets the blood flowing and will warm you right up. When all is said and done, the Aggies are probably not going to come out victorious in this game. While they've played up to tougher competition this season, USU is still decimated by injuries right now and at the worst of times. But regardless of team records or what the experts say will happen with this game, or what the BCS impact is for Boise, Utah State football has the chance to flex its muscles and potentially shock the world in front of a national audience. Is there any other reason to think that USU could pull off one of those rare upsets that nobody in their right mind saw coming other than the fact that those type of upsets just simply happen from time to time? I would say the answer is no. Regardless, the Aggies are being given the chance. If USU can pull off the miracle, I'm going to need help tearing down those goalposts. Don't leave me hanging USU student body. Matt Sonnenberg is a junior majoring in print journalism. Matt is an avid fan of Aggie athletics and can be found on the front row of every home football and basketball game. He can also be reached at matt. sonn@aggiemail. usu.edu. SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER XAVIER BOWMAN runs for a first down on a fake punt during the Aggies' game against San Jose State last Saturday. PETE P. SMITHSUTH photo Legacy: Seniors excited for Boise continued from page 8 mer," Andersen said. "I believe that is a foundation we can build upon. I wish there was more wins for them to go out with, but I believe this game is important to be able to send the seniors out." Sending the seniors out on a high note has been the theme of practice this past week for the Aggies, who clinched a home-winning record this season when they defeated San Jose State 24-9 last Saturday. Sophomore running back. Robert Turbin, who contributed 190 of the team's 381 rushing yards in last weekend's win, said while the team has ultimately fallen short of its goal of making it to a bowl game, Utah State's underclassmen still have the chance to make it a special season for the seniors. "Senior night is always a big game," Turbin said. "Boise State makes it a little bit bigger. I have always said now that we are not going to a bowl game, we are playing for the seniors. We need to give them something to remember and be proud of." Turbin added, "A lot of the seniors have never even competed with Boise State. To try to get this game for the seniors can be very memorable for them." Defeating the Broncos won't be an easy task by any means. Not only does Boise State rank sixth in the country and looked poised to secure another WAC title, but the Bronco offense leads the nation in scoring, averaging some 43.6 points per contest. They also are first in the WAC in defense, allowing opposing offenses just 16.9 points per game. Last weekend, the Broncos defeated Idaho in a resounding 63-25 blowout. Still, Utah State players, in particular the seniors, remain undeterred by the Broncos' impressive litany of accomplishments this season. Not only does the senior class remain intent on spoiling Boise's perfect season, but they've adopted a business-first approach, which they say will pay dividends come Friday night. "Everyone is focused this week," said Chris Ulinski. "Starting the second the San Jose State game ended, you can just tell that there's a whole 4 , 1/72ff 9Were new level of concentration and excitement and seriousness on the team." What would a Utah State upset of Boise State mean? Aside from likely ending the Broncos' bid to make a BCS bowl game, a win would likely validate the Aggie program as one on the rise and give the program much needed momentum going into the offseason — when recruiting Utah's talent-rich high schools begins to pick up. More importantly for the 17 Aggie seniors, it would be the perfect ending to four years of hard work and dedication. "I think it would be the cherry on top of the sundae," said Ulinski with a smile. "We've kind of had our ups and downs here, and a team like Boise coming in ranked so high — along with it being senior night — winning would mean everything." For Brennan McFadden, who red-shirted during USU's 3-8 season in 2005, an upset of the Broncos would make the perfect ending to his college football career. "A win would mean everything," he said. "Working hard the last five years of my life here, after red-shirting and playing the last four, to cap it off on senior night with beating Boise would certainly mean a lot." Win or lose against Boise, the USU senior football class will be defined by more than just the hollow 9-37 record of the last four seasons. And while they hope that the team's underclassmen will eventually lead the program back to a bowl game, seniors like Adrian Bybee maintain the real legacy of the senior class is in the bonds they share as teammates. "We've been through thick and thin," he said. "We've seen some rough times, and we've had some great times. Just being able to see that and to know that each and every one of us seniors know where we all come from and provide support for each other and have each others back. That in and of itself has been the greatest thing." — adam.nettina@aggiemail.usu.edu one eWek-r?/ome ( 6)/7/(e Come in and View Over 250 of The Newest Styles of Engagement Rings!!! Located at: 930 North Main Street Logan, Utah (435) 753-9755 |