SAN -- Led by strong hitting in the middle, the No. 16 BYU women's volleyball team defeated San Diego State 15-3, 18-16, 15-8 Friday in the Peterson Gym in San Diego. The win improves the Cougars to 15-6 overall and 7-2 in Mountain West Conference play. The Aztecs fell to 12-11 overall and 4-4 in conference play.

BYU's two junior middle hitters, Nina Puikkonen and Jackie Bundy, each led the Cougar offense by dominating the muddle. Puikkonen finished with 23 kills and a .629 hitting percentage in just three games. Bundy had 14 kills and a .360 hitting percentage. Freshman setter Karina Puikkonen guided the attack with 57 assists and a .429 hitting percentage.

"Our middle attack was excellent tonight," BYU coach Elaine Michaelis said. "Karina (Puikkonen) distributed the ball well to both sides and Nina (Puikkonen) and Jackie (Bundy) each hit the ball very well."

After winning the first game 15-3, the Cougars outlasted the Aztecs in a long, hard-fought second game 18-16. The victory in the second game gave BYU the momentum it needed to take the third game.

"That second game was a wonderful game," Michaelis said. "There was great defense played by both sides. Each side played really well."

The Aztecs were led by Nicole Akporiaye who finished the night with 16 kills and a .762 hitting percentage.

The Cougars will next play Wyoming Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse.

Volleyball Box Score
         BYU Cougars vs San Diego State (Oct 20, 2000 at San Diego, CA)
    BYU Cougars            |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5  PUIKKONEN, Karina...  3|  3   0   7  .429| 57|  1   0|  0|  6| 0  4  1|  1
 9  PUIKKONEN, Nina.....  3| 23   1  35  .629|  1|  5   4|  0|  9| 0  5  1|  0
 10 BUNDY, Jackie.......  3| 14   5  25  .360|  0|  0   0|  2|  7| 1  0  0|  0
 12 LAYTON, Melissa.....  3| 16   5  34  .324|  0|  0   3|  0|  4| 0  1  0|  0
 14 TONGA, Kalani.......  3|  8   5  20  .150|  1|  0   2|  1| 14| 0  1  0|  0
 15 TONGA, Sunny........  3|  9   3  22  .273|  5|  1   2|  0|  4| 1  0  0|  0
 2  WHITTAKER, Natalie..  2|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  3| 0  0  0|  0
 3  CRABBE, Uila........  2|  0   0   1  .000|  0|  0   1|  0|  3| 0  0  0|  0
 7  BRINTON, Martha.....  1|  1   0   1 1.000|  6|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0
 8  BOWERS, Carrie......  1|  0   1   2 -.500|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  1  0|  0
 11 BARRUS, Alyssa......  1|  2   2   4  .000|  0|  0   1|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0
 17 OTTESON, Michelle...  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  3| 76  22 151  .358| 70|  7  13|  3| 52| 2 12  2|  1
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 8.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  21  4  32  .531   GAME SCORES           1  2  3  TEAM RECORDS
   2  34 12  83  .265   BYU Cougars......... 15 18 15  15-6 (7-2 MWC)
   3  21  6  36  .417   San Diego State.....  3 16  8  12-11 (4-4 MWC)
    San Diego State        |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1  HALLQUIST, Amy......  3| 11   3  25  .320|  4|  0   1|  3|  4| 0  0  0|  0
 4  AKPORIAYE, Nicole...  3| 16   0  21  .762|  2|  0   0|  0|  0| 1  4  1|  0
 10 WRIGHT, Melissa.....  3|  4   1   9  .333| 37|  2   0|  0|  9| 1  2  1|  0
 14 GRADY, Erin.........  3|  1   4  10 -.300|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  5  0|  0
 16 MCPARTLAND, Aspen...  3| 10   5  24  .208|  1|  0   0|  1| 11| 1  4  1|  0
 18 SOLBERG, Monet......  3|  5   3  18  .111|  2|  0   1|  0|  6| 1  3  2|  0
 3  PRIVARA, Nadia......  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  3| 0  0  0|  0
 5  MAGNUSON, Katie.....  3|  0   0   6  .000|  0|  1   2|  0|  2| 0  0  0|  0
 8  GREGG, Robyn........  1|  0   0   0  .000|  2|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 11 SCHAUERMANN, Megan..  1|  0   0   1  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  1  0|  0
 12 ALLEN, Jessica......  3|  1   1   8  .000|  0|  0   4|  2|  7| 0  0  0|  0
 15 ANGUELOVA, Zlatina..  2|  2   1   5  .200|  0|  0   0|  0|  2| 0  0  0|  0
    TEAM................   |                 |   |       |  1|   |        |
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  3| 50  18 127  .252| 48|  3   8|  7| 45| 4 19  5|  0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 13.5
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  12  6  33  .182   Site: San Diego, CA (Peterson Gym)
   2  26  8  73  .247   Date: Oct 20, 2000   Attend: 226   Time: 1:37
   3  12  4  21  .381   Referees: Tana Martin, Patsy Malta