Tournament begins with Spartans
After doing the unthinkable, handing Western Athletic Conference volleyball juggernaut the University of Hawaii a sweep in Honolulu, the Aggies look to carry that momentum into the WAC Tournament, which starts for the No. 3 seed Aggies with a match against sixth-seeded San Jose State Thursday at 5 p.m. in Las Cruces, N.M.
“It’s a great win for our program, and now we need to translate that into a nice run in the tournament. That’s the biggest deal for us,” USU head coach Grayson DuBose said.
The emotion from the big win creates a sort of balancing act, as well, for Utah State.
“It will be great momentum for us, but on the other hand, we can’t be too cocky and think, ‘We beat Hawaii, that’s good enough. I don’t care what happens,'” senior opposite side hitter Amanda Nielson said. “I don’t think that’s going to happen, but it could because it was such a big win and such a big deal.”
As far as the tournament goes, the Aggie win in Hawaii Sunday night was a big deal because it earned them a favorable No. 3 seed and a match-up against the Spartans, a team Utah State swept this season, winning in four games in Logan, and three at San Jose.
The Spartans enter the match Thursday night on a two-match losing streak, dropping the last two at the University of Nevada-Reno and Hawaii. In contrast, Utah State comes in on a two-match winning streak – taking matches from Nevada and Hawaii – and having won 15 of its last 21 matches and five of the last six against the Spartans.
The Aggies do have a losing record against SJSU, going 6-14-1 all-time against the Spartans, including a 0-1-1 record on neutral courts. San Jose State is also 6-0 on neutral courts this year.
“I’d play anybody, because it’s fun to play anybody in the WAC, but San Jose is a good match up for us,” Nielson said.
If the Aggies pull off a win, they will play the winner of a match between the host, No. 2 seed New Mexico State Aggies, and the seventh-seeded Fresno State Bulldogs. The semifinal match will be played Friday at 7:30 p.m.
The WAC Tournament has yielded mixed results for Utah State – the Aggies are 2-2 all-time in the tournament.
Last season, the Aggies played in the three-six match, and lost to No. 3 seed Idaho. In 2005, USU made it to the championship match as the No. 2 seed, before getting swept 3-0 by top-seeded Hawaii. Early in the 2005 tournament, the Aggies beat seventh-seeded Fresno State, 3-1, in the first round and No. 3 seed New Mexico State, 3-2, in the semifinals.
The 2007 Aggies are hoping to be more like the ’05 USU team than the 2006 Aggies, and the win at Hawaii could make the difference.
“We know if we can beat Hawaii at home, we can win the WAC Tournament, for sure,” Nielson said. “It’s just a lot of us didn’t believe it until it happened, and now that we know it gives us a lot of confidence.”
USU volleyball fans can watch their Aggies on WAC.tv, where all the matches will be broadcast. Single matches can be viewed on WAC.tv for $9.95, or fans can subscribe to the full volleyball tournament package, which includes all eight matches, for $19.95.
-da.bake@aggiemail.usu.edu