Upset-minded Ags set for showdown with Arizona

Utah State can check off two of the three goals it set for itself before the 2005 volleyball season began.

First, the Aggies (21-12) wanted to finish in the top third of the Western Athletic Conference in their first year of competition, and they finished in a tie for second (11-5).

Secondly, they wanted to make the NCAA tournament.

Mission accomplished.

"It's great for our program and we've worked hard to achieve that," USU coach Burt Fuller said. "We felt that with the personnel, if we stayed healthy, we had a shot of making it."

Now that the Aggies have earned the bid by finishing second in the WAC tournament last week in Reno, the next goal is to win a match in the tournament.

It won't be easy, however, as the Aggies meet No. 4 seed Arizona today at 6 p.m. at the University of Utah's Crimson Court.

"It's going to be a tough match," Fuller said. "Arizona is a great team and well coached and has super players. Weirder things have happened."

Arizona leads the all-time series with Utah State at 8-6, and have won the last five matches. The Aggies haven't defeated Arizona since 1980.

The Aggies are 1-5 against opponents ranked in the top 25 this year and 8-36 against ranked opponents during the last six years.

Despite finishing fifth in the Big West Conference two years ago, the Aggies were not one of the six teams from the conference that year to receive bids. Last year, the Aggies finished 8-19 while battling injuries.

The tournament bid is the Aggies' third in school history and first since 2001. Only one player on the current team has been to the tournament — Victoria Zimmerman, who went to the 2002 tournament with Indiana.

"I think at this point of the year with the seniors we have they're pretty experienced and they're veterans," Fuller said. "We'll approach this match like we would others. Sure, there are going to be jitters."

The same could have been said for the WAC tournament, and the Aggies responded.

"I think it was good preparation for the NCAAs, where it's a single-elimination deal," Fuller said. "We knew the pressure was on us to win a couple of matches in order to get into this spot and our kids played very well."

Utah State defeated Fresno State and New Mexico State in the first two rounds of the WAC tournament before falling to No. 8 Hawaii in three games in the championship match.

The Aggies will rely on all-WAC first-teamers Zuzana Cernianska and Ingrid Roth, second-teamer Erin Graybill and all-tournament team selection Carolyn Forbush, but it will need to be a team effort.