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Show Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012 Page 7 ThursdaySpor VO Conference Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.utahstatesman.com LLE}' gpLL Aggies beat Texas State, solidift WAC title BY CURTIS LUNDSTROM sports senior writer Senior Night lived up to its billing for the Utah State women's volleyball team as the Aggies capped their WAC-Championship season with a sweep of Texas State on Wednesday at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum to send Shay Sorensen, Josselyn White and Kassi Hargrove out with a win. "It's always nice to win on Senior Night," said USU head coach Grayson DuBose. "You always want to send those guys out with a good feeling. Those three have accomplished a lot while they've been here at Utah State. That's their 71st win, I figured out. I think that's pretty impressive." Playing in front of a sizeable crowd on Senior Night, Sorensen wasted little time giving the Aggies the lead and writing herself in the school record books. With her first swing of the night, the senior from Ogden, Utah recorded her 863rd career kill to move into a tie for 10th place all-time at USU. But it was fellow-senior White who stole the spotlight early on, tallying five kills as the Aggies cruised to a 25-17 first-set win. Sophomore Rachel Orr also recorded five kills, and Sorensen finished the way she started it, putting down her third kill and movOSee CHAMPS, Page 9 THE UTAH STATE VOLLEYBALL TEAM celebrates its undisputed Western Athletic Conference Championship on the Spectrum court after their sweep of Texas State on Wednesday. CURTIS RIPPLINGER photo FOOTBALL WAC title on the line BY TAVIN STUCKI sports editor SOPHMORE QB CHUCKIE KEETON, identifies a defensive scheme in a game earlier this season. Keeton must keep up with the high-powered La.Tech offense Saturday for USU to have a chance at the WAC title. CURTIS RIPPLINGER photo Saturday's game between Utah State and No. 19 Louisiana Tech will in all likelihood be the Western Athletic Conference championship game. Both teams sit at 4-0 in the WAC with one game to be played after this weekend. "Obviously, the Louisiana Tech game is a huge game for the Aggies and a huge game for the Bulldogs," said Utah State head coach Gary Andersen. "It's a great accomplishment by both sides to get to the point where both teams are." Utah State enters the game with an 8-2 record while La. Tech is 9-1. A combined seven points at the hands of Wisconsin, BYU and Texas A&M separate these teams from being a perfect 20-0 this season. La. Tech has the second-best scoring offense in the nation, putting up an average of 53.4 points per game. The only team to hold the Bulldogs to fewer than 44 points was New Mexico State when La. Tech missed three field goals and entered halftime with seven points. Louisiana Tech is led by senior quarterback Colby Cameron who has 3,283 passing yards and a 71 completion percentage. The Newbury Park, Calif., native has 30 total touchdowns this season and has set an active NCAA record for consecutive career pass attempts without an interception at 419. Wide receiver Quinton Patton's 1,086 yards and 11 touchdown catches are a complement to running back Kenneth Dixon's 1,052 yards rushing and 24 rushing touchdowns in a fast-paced, wellbalanced offense. Andersen said the Aggie defense will have to substitute well to keep control of the game. "When Louisiana Tech feels that they've got you tired, they are going to put the pedal to the metal," Andersen said. "They are going to say keep the same personnel group on the field and they are going to come after you. We cannot let fatigue be a factor to us. You may have to strategically use a timeout here and there to let you catch your breath if you need to." Utah State ranks sixth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 13.5 points per game. The Aggies have only allowed more than 20 points in a game twice this season, 27 to San Jose State on the road and against Utah in overtime. USU won both games. The Aggies have outscored opponents 103-6 in the first quarter, a testament to the strength of the USU defense. Louisiana Tech head coach Sonny Dykes said Utah State has the strongest defense the Bulldogs will have *See FOOTBALL, Page 8 HOCKEY USU to host Beehive Showcase this weekend BY SEAN O'SULLIVAN staff writer The Utah State club hockey team will host the Beehive Grill Showcase this weekend, a tournament involving USU, the University of Utah, Boise State University, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and San Jose State University. The Aggies are excited to play this tournament in Logan. "It's an honor to host it at home," said Aggie captain Brian Gibbons. "We've got the best fans definitely in the American Collegiate Hockey Association. Every night it's sold out." At this point in the season, the Aggies will have no problem physically playing three games in three nights. However, there is a mental aspect to the tournament as well. "I try to just get my mind focused in on what we have to do this weekend and how to play against those teams and make sure I'm doing my job," said forward Chris Videto. Even though the University of Utah is involved in the tournament, the Aggies won't get a chance at redemption this week after USU's 6-2 loss earlier this season. Instead, they will play Boise State, UNLV and SJSU. Boise State is having an average season so far: They are in 11th place in points. However, in the rankings, which takes strength of schedule into consideration, they were ranked 17th in the West in the last poll. The Broncos and the Aggies share two common opponents in Weber State and BYU. While the Aggies defeated WSU handily and shut out BYU twice, the Broncos barely squeaked by the Cougars twice and lost 8-1 to Weber State. Individually, of players who have played five games or more, BSU has only two players who are scoring a pointper-game pace while USU has seven. As a team, Utah State has scored 12 more goals on the season than BSU while playing two less games. The Rebels of UNLV have played six games this year. One thing that stands out with the Rebels is their ability to put the puck in the net. UNLV has 38 goals with a season-high 12 goals corning against California State University, Northridge. On the other hand, they've also allowed 31 goals, so the team defense may still be working things out because it's still early in their season. Lastly, the Aggies will face San Jose State in what could be the biggest game of the tournament. The Spartans are ranked just below the Aggies and are looking for a big win. "I'm most excited to play San Jose because they're ranked number two in the western side behind us," said forward Cooper Limb. "It'll be a good game. It's always fun to play those top rivals." The Aggies also remember how the Spartans played last year. "I'd say San Jose State would be our toughest match because they gave us a good game last year and they had a pretty good run in regionals last year too," Gibbons said. The Spartans beat the University of Utah earlier this year and the U of U is the only team to beat the Aggies. However, the Spartans were beat by Denver, a team the Aggies beat on the road this season. This game might be the most evenly-matched game in the tournament for the Aggies. Utah State will play Boise State this Thursday, UNLV on Friday and San Jose State on Saturday at the George UTAH STATE'S JOEL BASSON muscles through a BYU skater in a game at the Eccles Ice Center earlier this season. CURTIS RIPPLINGER photo S. Eccles Ice Center. All Utah State games are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. If fans come early, they can catch other teams playing at 4 p.m. and stay to watch the Aggies play later, getting two games for the price of one. — sean.osullivan@aggiemail.usu.edu Twitter: @seansy89 |