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Show Friday, Sept. 2, 2011 StatesmanSports I Page 9 From Page 8 Where Utah Gets Engaged! Five sets not enough to cage Bengals Led by senior middle blocker Vanessa Muir, the Bengals turned the tide and managed to pull off the improbable victory. After coming up with a couple of key kills during a pivotal stretch of the third set, the Bengals found some momentum and after a couple of errors by Utah State's frontline, the Aggies found themselves down a point. Junior outside hitter Josselyn White explained what brought about the collapse causing USU to drop the set 26-24. "We were up by a lot and then they went on a run and we just panicked and our passing broke down and our hitting, defense and blocking — it just all went downhill from there. We didn't know how to rebound." Having lost all of the momentum and dropping the third set, the Aggies self-destructed and dropped the fourth set, 25 18. They could do little right, and the Bengals were doing little wrong. The Aggies seemed to geett _ac__ back on track to start the fifth set, quickly jumping out to a lead. The bad news for USU was Idaho State had the answers and closed the gap. The nail-biting fifth set went back and forth, but the Aggies ran out of gas at the end, falling 12 15 to end the match. The Aggies have high hopes for this season despite having lost some of their senior impact players from last season. "We're just trying to figure some stuff out," Sorenson said. "I think that we have enough experience coming back that we should be better than what we're doing." DuBose said the team let Idaho State dictate the game. "They just knocked us in the mouth and we didn't respond," Dubose said. "We just stopped doing the things we were doing for the first two games, which is discouraging." Despite the loss, White said there were high points. "I think we saw glimpses of what we can be," White said. "Those first two games we 4f, 5fa Surprise her with a solitaire ... let her choose the ring. Starting at $500. - - ■ ‘414 S. E. Needham jewelers since 1896 USU OPPOSITE SIDE HITTER Shay Sorenson tied her career high of 16 kills and broke her personal best of eight block assists in the game against Idaho State University on Sept. 2, 2011, in the Dee Glenn Smith Spectrum. CARL R.WILSON photo • played pretty well. The score might have been closer than the match indicated. I think we had the upper hand most of the time. It will be hard to find positives, but I guess we can if we look hard enough." It was a sour way to end a match that began so well for the Aggies. "That's the past," White said. "It already happened. We've got to look forward to tomorrow and come out stronger and play with more heart and passion. I think things will go better for us." The Aggies host Syracuse at 7 p.m. in The Spectrum Sept. 3. 141 North Main • www.seneedham.com • 435-752-7149 A GOOD LUCK USU Volleyball Team in their weekend volleyball tournament! September 1st through 3rd — curtis.lundstrom@aggiemail.usu.edu *KINNEY, From Page 8 This is why I love sports the New England Patriots. Yes, Tom Brady was No. 7 on the depth chart during his sophomore year of college. He now has the fifth-highest career passing rating of all time. Good choice Michigan. Sports are the Gorilla Glue of life. What else did as much to bring a devastated New Orleans back to life as the 2010 New Orleans Saints Super Bowl victory? People may still be without shelter, but they danced in the streets with the rest of the world when the Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts. So what if no one believed the underdog Saints didn't appear to stand a chance against Peyton Manning's powerhouse? I think even Colts fans secretly wanted New Orleans to win. Sports make people feel better. Like the people of New Orleans desperate for good news, no matter how big or small our problems are, everything disappears come game time. The technical term for this is "basking in reflected glory." This means people feel successful by association, like when your dad was always just as happy as you were when you hit that homer in Little League. Whether it's a coincidence or not, it is a fact that on Feb. 22, 1980, the day United States hockey beat Russia (think "Miracle"), the suicide rate was lower than all other February 22's from 1972 to 1989. It's this kind of shared identity that makes sports fans so avid, and the rivalries so heated. It's also important to note that success isn't necessarily a prerequisite for sports fandom. Most fans will claim they are die-hards, but I'm willing to argue that no one is more die-hard than a Chicago Cubs fan. The Cubs are far from successful but their fans are the most loyal in all of Major League Baseball. I had a friend reveal to me once how the Cubs gave him hope in the most difficult year of his life. He admits they aren't the best team in the league, but during that year he threw himself into the franchise and became one of the team's biggest fans. The team was his outlet. Being a fan was more important than winning. Then there's the inspiration factor surrounding sports. Fans inspire athletes to success, and athletes inspire fans in everyday life. I'll never forget the Western Oregon University softball player who hit a 3-run homer for the win, but tore her ACL rounding first base. She was given a choice — give up her homerun for a single and a pinch runner, or have her teammates help her off the field and be called out. Instead, members of the opposing team picked her up and carried her around the bases gently touching her foot to each bag. It didn't matter how the act resulted in an eliminati on loss because the players did the right thing. Stories like this are so common in sports and, all too often, get overshadowed by bad things. They keep me going. They are the reasons why I love sports. — Meredith Kinney is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. She loves hockey and lacrosse. Her goal is to be a big-shot sideline reporter. Come cheer on the USU Volleyball team with Gossner Foods. Makers fo the finest milk, cheese and other dairy products, Gossner Foods is a proud supporter of Utah State University and Aggie Athletics. Fans make sure to visit the Gossner retail store for fresh "squeeky cheese" handmade ice cream, and great deals on all dairy products... flael-Ite /91-ot/ideal) the petce_eed GO AGGIES!!! INN Utah State Invitational sponsored by Gossner Foods 09/03/11 vs. Idaho State Logan, Utah 7:00 p.m. MT vs. Texas State vs. Idaho State Logan, Utah 5:00 p.m. MT vs. Syracuse Logan, Utah 7:00 p.m. MT vs. Texas State vs. Syracuse Logan, Utah 11:00 a.m. MT vs. Idaho State vs. Syracuse Logan, Utah 5:00 p.m. MT vs. Texas State Logan, Utah 7:00 p.m. MT |