PROVO -- The Cougars came up short in their bid to return to the NCAA Final Four, losing 3-2 (25-30, 21-30, 31-29, 30-23, 13-15) to UC Santa Barbara Saturday night in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament quarterfinals at the Smith Fieldhouse. BYU lost despite coming back from a 2-0 deficit and finished the season with a 20-10 overall record and a third place finish in the MPSF at 15-7. The Gauchos advanced to the MPSF semifinals and improved to 16-13 overall.

"I'm proud of how the guys came back like they did," BYU coach Tom Peterson said. "They showed a lot of character when they were down. It makes it harder to lose after coming back like that."

After falling behind 2-0 and trailing throughout the third, the Cougars fought back to force a fifth. The score remained close throughout before UCSB took the lead at 13-11. BYU tied the score at 13 on a kill by Ivan Perez and a block by Russell Holmes and Rob Neilson, forcing a Gaucho timeout. The comeback would fall short, however, as Casey Patterson served the ball into the net and UCSB blocked Perez to seal the win for the Gauchos.

"Give them credit for being ready to play in the Smith Fieldhouse," Peterson said. "They made the plays when it counted."

Perez was one shy of tying his career high in kills with 24 but did set a career mark with six blocks. Patterson had 17 kills and Victor Batista added 10. Neilson tied a career high with 68 assists and Brian Rowley had 12 digs. Bryan Stewart and Holmes made big contributions off the bench. Stewart replaced Taylor Evans in the second and played part of the third, recording a career-high six kills. Holmes had three kills and five blocks after replacing Michael Burke, who went down with an injured shoulder in the second. As a team, BYU hit .265 (77-36-155) and had 14.0 team blocks.

Adam Ulfers recorded 19 kills to lead UCSB while Patak, who leads the nation in kills per game, had 18 while hitting just .175 (18-11-40). Middles Theo Brunner and Michael Kennedy also had double-digit kill totals with 12 and 10, respectively. Kennedy also tallied a match-best 11 blocks.

UCSB scored the first point of game one on a kill by Ulfers and never trailed, winning the opening frame 30-25. After falling behind 9-7, the Cougars trailed by at least two and as many as six at 20-26 and 23-29. Patterson had five kills to lead BYU and Rowley added eight digs. Patak had six kills to lead a Gaucho attack that hit .406 (15-2-32).

The Cougars kept the second close up to 18-19 before UCSB took control, outscoring the Cougars 11-3 to end the game with the 30-21 win. The Gaucho rally started just a few points after BYU lost Burke. Perez registered seven kills for the Cougars but it was not enough as UCSB hit .500 (13-2-22) and had 4.0 team blocks.

BYU refused to go out in a sweep, fighting back from several Gaucho leads and two match points to win game three 31-29. UCSB cruised through the first part of the game, taking a four point lead at 14-10. The Cougars fought back to tie the score at 17. That comeback would not be BYU's last as the Gauchos jumped back ahead by four at 23-19. The Cougars fought back and closed the gap to one but let UCSB take the lead at 29-27. Evans, who returned to the lineup only plays earlier, saved the first Gaucho match point with a kill. A service error stopped UCSB from clinching and Evans followed that with an ace to give BYU the lead at 30-29. On the next play, Perez and Batista stuffed a Gaucho attack to keep the Cougars alive. Patterson had six kills and Stewart and Perez added five each. Perez also added five blocks.

An enthusiastic crowd helped push a re-energized BYU team to a 30-23 win in the fourth, tying the match at two games apiece. The win did not come without drama as the Gauchos led 22-20. Perez registered a kill putting the ball into the hands of Batista, who served six straight points, including two aces. UCSB scored one more point but could not stop the Cougar attack as Perez ended the game with a kill. The Cougars hit .400 (18-6-30) for the game and Perez had six kills and Patterson five.

"I told the team that I'm proud of them," Peterson said. "They're a great team and great people. We got better throughout the season and I give a lot of credit to the players for working hard, especially the seniors. They provided a lot of leadership for this group."

BYU will return all but three of their players in 2006. Burke, Patterson and Brian Congelliere have completed their eligibility.

                              Volleyball Box Score
                     Brigham Young University - Volleyball
         UC Santa Barbara vs Brigham Young (Apr 23, 2005 at PROVO, UT)
    UC Santa Barbara       |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1  Kowalski, Bart......  5|  3   0   5  .600| 60|  2   4|  0|  8| 0  3  1|  1|   6.5
 4  Berman, Bryan.......  5|  6   5  17  .059|  2|  0   2|  0|  5| 0  2  2|  0|   7.0
 7  Patak, Evan.........  5| 18  11  40  .175|  0|  2   4|  0|  3| 1  3  0|  0|  22.5
 10 Ulfers, Adam........  5| 19   3  29  .552|  0|  0   2|  2|  4| 0  5  0|  0|  21.5
 21 Brunner, Theo.......  5| 12   0  20  .600|  0|  0   0|  0|  3| 1  3  1|  0|  14.5
 25 Kennedy, Michael....  5| 10   3  20  .350|  1|  0   0|  0|  3| 2  9  0|  0|  16.5
 5  Nelson, Mike........  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 11 Godinez, Jared......  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 13 Wack, Nate..........  2|  0   1   3 -.333|  0|  0   1|  0|  2| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 15 Wilson, Drew........  4|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   0|  1|  1| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 19 Mansfield, Aaron....  5|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   0|  2|  7| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  5| 68  23 134  .336| 65|  4  13|  5| 36| 4 25  4|  1|  88.5
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 16.5
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  15  2  32  .406   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  4  5  TEAM RECORDS
   2  13  2  22  .500   UC Santa Barbara.... (3) 30 30 29 23 15  16-13, 13-9 MPSF
   3  17  8  34  .265   Brigham Young....... (2) 25 21 31 30 13  20-10, 15-7 MPSF
   4  13  6  28  .250
   5  10  5  18  .278
    Brigham Young          |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  BURKE, Michael......  2|  6   1   7  .714|  0|  0   2|  0|  0| 0  2  1|  0|   7.0
 8  PEREZ, Ivan.........  5| 24   8  45  .356|  0|  0   2|  1|  5| 0  6  1|  0|  27.0
 9  PATTERSON, Casey....  5| 17   6  29  .379|  2|  1   4|  1|  4| 0  3  1|  0|  19.5
 14 NEILSON, Rob........  5|  2   0   5  .400| 68|  0   1|  0|  9| 0  5  0|  0|   4.5
 15 BATISTA, Victor.....  5| 10   8  29  .069|  1|  2   6|  0|  4| 0  6  0|  0|  15.0
 17 EVANS, Taylor.......  5|  9   9  25  .000|  2|  2   3|  2|  1| 0  1  0|  0|  11.5
 2  STEWART, Bryan......  3|  6   2   9  .444|  0|  0   1|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0|   6.0
 6  HEYES, Matt.........  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 7  ROWLEY, Brian.......  5|  0   1   1-1.000|  0|  0   0|  0| 12| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 11 HOLMES, Russell.....  5|  3   1   5  .400|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  5  1|  0|   5.5
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  5| 77  36 155  .265| 73|  5  19|  4| 37| 0 28  4|  0|  96.0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 14.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  17 10  37  .189   Site: PROVO, UT (SMITH FIELD HOUSE)
   2  15  8  33  .212   Date: Apr 23, 2005   Attend: 1396   Time: 2H 15M
   3  20  8  40  .300   Referees: BURT FULLER, JILL MALTA, MA,MC,SB,MM,DM
   4  18  6  30  .400
   5   7  4  15  .200
                                         1   2   3   4   5 Total
                        Tie scores       0   5   6   6   4    21
                        Lead changes     0   1   5   2   1     9

PROVO -- The No. 3 seed BYU men's volleyball team will kick off the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament with a first round match against UC Santa Barbara in the Smith Fieldhouse Saturday at 7 p.m. (MST), the winner advancing to the tournament semifinals. The Cougars and Gauchos split two matches in January, with UCSB winning the first in four and BYU sweeping the second.

The Cougars, ranked No. 6 in the latest USA Today/CSTV Top 15 Division I-II Men's Coaches Poll, clinched third place in the MPSF at 15-7 with two four-game wins last weekend (April 15 and 16) over Stanford, finishing the regular season with an overall record of 20-9. The Gauchos, the sixth seed and ranked No. 7, lost to Pepperdine last week before concluding the season with a win over USC. UCSB finished at 15-13 overall and 13-9 in the MPSF.

BYU coach Tom Peterson said the wins over Stanford were the biggest matches of the season up to that point. He said this weekend's match is even more significant.

"This is now the most important match," Peterson said. "Single elimination, do or die. It's a compliment to our guys to nail down the third seed in the conference and to be ranked above Hawai'i and Long Beach State after being up and down. Now we have to prove that this is where we belong."

Pepperdine, which won the MPSF regular season and will host the semifinal and championship matches of the tournament, earned a first-round bye and will play the lowest seed that advances past the quarterfinals. The semifinals and final will be played Thursday and Saturday, April 28 and 30. The semifinal matches will begin at 5 and 7:30 p.m. (PST) while the final will be played at 6:30 p.m. (PST). The winner of the league tournament will automatically qualify for the NCAA Final Four at UCLA.

The other quarterfinal matches are No. 4 seed Hawai'i hosting No. 5 seed Long Beach State and No. 2 seed UCLA playing the winner of the play-in match, No. 8 Stanford at No. 7 Cal State Northridge.

UCSB has struggled recently, losing five-of-six before earning a win over USC, the second-to-last place team in the MPSF. The Gauchos are still a very dangerous team, one that Peterson said the Cougars will not take lightly.

"They were ahead of us for most of the season," he said. "It's kind of a grudge match. We hope the crowd will come out. It would be great to have that continued support."

Opposite hitter Evan Patak, the national and MPSF leader in kills per game, is the heart and soul of UCSB. He averaged 5.65 kills per game throughout the season and 5.90 during MPSF play. His 54 service aces and 0.55 per game average are also among the nation's elite. Along with his serving and hitting prowess, he averages 1.04 digs and 0.56 blocks per game.

"He's the top point scorer in the country," Peterson said. "He'll be a top nominee for player of the year. When he gets on a roll they're a tough team to stop. We have to slow him down and not let anyone else have a great match."

While Patak carries much of the load, he is not the Gauchos only offensive threat. Michael Kennedy and Theo Brunner team up to make an efficient and productive tandem in the middle. Kennedy leads the team in blocks per game at 1.03 and is second in hitting percentage at .433 while contributing 2.36 kills per game. Brunner, a freshman, is first in hitting percentage at .487 and second in blocks per game at 0.87.

The outside hitter position has been handled by committee all season with Nathan Wack, Jake Wiens and Bryan Berman all seeing significant playing time. UCSB also does not have a permanent setter as Bart Kowalski and Dane Jensen have shared time directing the offense.

Saturday's match will mark the 33rd meeting between the schools in 16 seasons, with BYU owning the 18-14 advantage. The Gauchos won the first four meetings from 1990 to 1991 before the Cougars finally picked up a victory in 1992. BYU is 11-5 at home versus UCSB and has won the last eight in Provo, a streak that began in 1998.

When the Cougars and Gauchos faced off in January, Evan Patak had his way at the net in the first match, pounding out 32 kills while frustrating the BYU passing game with five aces and several other difficult serves. He also added nine digs and two blocks. Ivan Perez was solid for the Cougars in that match, a 3-1 loss, tallying 17 kills, 13 digs and two aces.

BYU was able to limit Patak to 11 kills the next night and shut the rest of the team down, earning the sweep. Victor Batista had his best hitting match of the season, going for a career-high 23 kills while hitting for a blistering .656 (23-2-32) percentage and collecting eight digs.

Ivan Perez was on top of his game in the wins over Stanford, recording 19 kills in both matches while totaling 14 digs. Victor Batista was solid as well, recording 35 kills in the two matches, including a match-high 21 in the second. BYU's record-setting service was another part of the back-to-back victories as the Cougars recorded eight each night to increase their all-time school mark to 169. Casey Patterson had seven of those aces.

Peterson said his team has shown improvement all season and hopes that the players' hard work will culminate in a run to the tournament title.

"Our whole goal is to get rid of our inexperienced mistakes and it comes down to this one match," he said. "It comes down to how long we can play at a high level without making errors."

Peterson added that the whole team will have to play well for the Cougars to have a chance at winning matches in the tournament.

"I think we all have to play well," he said. "We can't afford to have one or two guys not contribute. We have to do it by committee."

Saturday's match will begin at 7 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse. Ticket prices will be $10 for general admission and $6 for students. Students with All-Sport Cards will be admitted for $5. The gates will open at 5:30 p.m. A limited number of reserved tickets in Section B, the center section of the east side, are available and can be purchased by calling the ticket office at (801) 422-2981.

Saturday's match will be broadcast on BYU Radio. To listen, visit http://www.byuradio.org/ or click here. To follow the match online, visit http://www.byucougars.com/ or click here.