PROVO — While Utah State women's volleyball coach Tom Peterson calls his program's first NCAA Tournament appearance "an honor," it's clear that his Aggies aren't just happy to be here.
"Here" is BYU's Smith Fieldhouse, where USU (21-9) takes on another first-time NCAA entrant, Missouri (24-6), today at 5 p.m. in first-round action. The Cougars (24-6), the No. 3 seed in the Central Region, will host Hofstra (23-10) at 7 p.m.
Before the season began, the No. 21 ranked Aggies set a goal to earn an invitation to the NCAAs. But midway through the campaign, the goal was revised somewhat. "We re-evaluated and decided we want to go deep into the tournament," Peterson said.
If USU gets past No. 25 ranked Missouri, it will play the winner of the BYU-Hofstra match Saturday at 6 p.m. for the right to advance to the Sweet 16.
Until a season-ending defeat to Idaho, Peterson was thinking his team had a good shot at hosting the first and second rounds. "That loss hurt our chances of hosting," he said. "It hurt our egos and our ranking. But the sign of a good team is how we rebound."
Peterson was disappointed at first upon learning that the Aggies were headed to BYU. But now he's glad to be playing in Provo. "It's a good thing not to be traveling far away," he said.
For Peterson, an Orem native, BYU is like home. After all, he earned all three of his degrees from BYU. He coached BYU's club team for four years and even helped coach the women's squad in 1983.
Peterson is a proven winner. He was the head coach for the Penn State men's team, which won the national championship in 1994 and chalked up five Final Four appearances. Peterson returned to BYU as an assistant with the men's team before coaching at Salt Lake Community College for three seasons. He took over at USU in 1999, and after going 1-8 to start the year, the Aggies won 13 of their final 17 matches to finish 14-12. Prior to his arrival, the Aggies had only won winning season from 1983-1998.
Still, Peterson is quick to point out that the Aggies won the AIAW national championship in 1978.
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