Four Players Record Double-Digit Kills

PROVO -- For the second time this season, the BYU women's volleyball team overcame an 0-2 deficit for a dramatic come from behind 3-2 (26-30, 22-30, 30-19, 30-21, 16-14) win over San Diego State Friday night in the Smith Fieldhouse. The win improves the Cougars to 14-5 overall and 4-2 in the Mountain West Conference, while the Aztecs fall to 12-9, 3-3.

"It was an unbelievable effort by the team tonight," BYU coach Karen Lamb said. "You never want to put yourselves in the position to be down 0-2, but we were and we showed a lot of heart."

BYU the No. 19 blocking team in the nation was matched up with SDSU, the No. 5 blocking team. In the match, the Aztecs held the blocking advantage at 15-12. Defense and serving spurred runs on both sides throughout the match.

In the end BYU's balanced offense, which saw four players register double-digit kills, sustained momentum for the Cougars as they claimed the win.

In the first game, SDSU staked itself to an early lead at 5-2, but three consecutive Aztec attack errors knotted the game at 5-5. From there, the game would remain close and the two teams would exchange points. The Cougars took their largest lead of the game at 21-19, but the Aztecs staged a 4-0 run, largely due to three BYU attack errors to take a 23-21 lead. SDSU cruised from there taking nine of the next 12 points.

After a close start to the second game, SDSU staged a critical 5-0 run midway through the game to take a commanding 18-12 lead. The Cougars couldn't get within five points the rest of the way, as the Aztecs ran away with the game by hitting a match-high .419.

Game three turned the tide for BYU and got the fans into the match, as the Cougars came out with energy to take a quick 4-2 lead with two kills from Lindsey Metcalf. BYU and SDSU traded points to keep the game close, but the Cougars would continue to hold a slim lead as they hit over .300 throughout the game. BYU's decisive blow was a 4-0 run to extend the Cougar lead to 20-15 after Kim Wilson and Metcalf kills. The Cougars were relentless and ended up scoring 14 of the final 18 points in the game.

"After we started communicating out on the court, we started to play well," Lamb said. "The fans were pretty loud tonight, and it was hard for the players to hear from the sidelines. So it was very important that they communicated with each other on the court."

The fourth game featured the same theme as the third. Only, BYU got out to a stronger start. Behind the staunch serving of Lindsey Kearl, including a pair of aces, BYU took a quick 6-1 lead and would hold the lead throughout. The Cougar defense continued to keep the Aztec offense in check, as BYU stifled each SDSU rally. The Aztecs would draw to within three points on numerous occasions, but were turned away each time. BYU would again finish strong with a 12-5 run to end the game, capped by a pair of Metcalf kills.

"We were determined not to lose," Wilson said. "We knew we could do it."

As it had in the previous two games, BYU took an early lead in the fifth game with a 3-0 lead. In a back-and-forth offensive struggle, SDSU fought back to tie it at 5-5. The Cougars then reeled off a 4-0 run, punctuated by two Wilson kills. The Aztecs then pulled off a 4-0 run of their own to tie the game again, at 9-9. BYU then staged another 4-0 run after consecutive kills by Carrie Bowers, Wilson and Lindsy Lewis-Hartsock. SDSU fought back again with a 5-1 run to tie the game at 14-14, but the Cougars prevailed with back-to-back kills from Bowers and Laura Nielsen to seal the match.

"Obviously it's tough to come from behind, but when we put ourselves in desperate circumstances, we play well," Lamb said.

BYU was led by Bowers' 15 kills, followed by Wilson (14), Lewis-Hartsock (12) and Metcalf (11). Nielsen put up a match-high .462 attack percentage to go with eight kills.

The Cougar serve was strong as they collected 11 aces, led by Kearl who collected three aces.

Defensively, Uila Crabbe put up a match-high 21 digs and Wilson recorded a career-high 17 digs to record her sixth double-double of the year. Nielsen led the team with six blocks.

Lauren Richards displayed her all-around game in quarterbacking the attack. She dished out a match-high 50 assists, while also posting 10 digs, eight kills, five blocks and a service ace.

The Cougars hit .211, while limiting SDSU to a .130 attack percentage. In the final three games, BYU held the Aztecs to sub-.100 attack percentages in each.

The Aztecs were led by Megan Schauermann who tallied match-highs with 17 kills and 10 blocks.

BYU will be in action again Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse, when it hosts UNLV. The BYU men's volleyball team will hold its annual Blue/White scrimmage at the conclusion of the women's match.

                              Volleyball Box Score
                       2003 BYU Women's Volleyball Stats
      San Diego State vs BYU Cougars (Oct 17, 2003 at Brigham Young Univ.)
    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
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 2  MORIARTY, Kara......  5|  8  11  41 -.073|  1|  1   1|  3| 15| 0  2  2|  0
 6  CANSDALE, Melissa...  5|  6   7  22 -.045|  0|  0   0|  0|  6| 0  5  2|  0
 7  ENGSTROM, Sara......  5|  4   0  14  .286| 48|  0   0|  1|  6| 0  4  0|  1
 8  GREGG, Robyn........  5|  0   1   2 -.500|  1|  3   5|  1| 11| 0  0  0|  0
 11 SCHAUERMANN, Megan..  5| 17   4  30  .433|  0|  0   0|  1|  0| 1  9  0|  0
 15 ANGUELOVA, Zlatina..  5|  8   4  40  .100|  0|  0   0|  3| 17| 0  3  1|  0
 5  SANDE, Natalie......  5|  0   0   1  .000|  2|  0   1|  2|  5| 0  0  0|  0
 16 MCPARTLAND, Aspen...  5| 15   7  35  .229|  1|  0   1|  0| 11| 0  5  2|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  5| 58  34 185  .130| 53|  4   8| 11| 71| 1 28  7|  1
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 15.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  14  8  53  .113   GAME SCORES           1  2  3  4  5  TEAM RECORDS
   2  16  3  31  .419   San Diego State..... 30 30 19 21 14  12-9, 3-3
   3  11  9  40  .050   BYU Cougars......... 26 22 30 30 16  14-5, 4-2
   4  11  8  38  .079
   5   6  6  23  .000
    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  RICHARDS, Lauren....  5|  8   4  25  .160| 50|  1   2|  0| 10| 0  5  2|  4
 6  METCALF, Lindsey....  4| 11   6  40  .125|  1|  1   0|  3| 11| 0  0  1|  0
 7  WILSON, Kim.........  5| 14   8  40  .150|  2|  2   3|  0| 17| 0  1  0|  0
 8  BOWERS, Carrie......  5| 15   5  33  .303|  2|  0   1|  0|  8| 1  3  2|  0
 12 CRABBE, Uila........  5|  0   0   1  .000|  5|  0   0|  0| 21| 0  0  0|  0
 14 HARTSOCK, Lindsy....  5| 12   3  22  .409|  0|  1   1|  0|  0| 0  5  0|  0
 3  VARNER, April.......  1|  2   2  10  .000|  0|  1   1|  0|  1| 0  1  0|  0
 4  TOGO, Melanie.......  2|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 9  BROWN, Lexi.........  1|  0   1   1-1.000|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 11 KEARL, Lindsey......  5|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  3   2|  1|  3| 0  0  0|  0
 15 CASTILLO, Sahara....  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  2   2|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 18 NIELSEN, Laura......  5|  8   2  13  .462|  0|  0   1|  0|  2| 1  5  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  5| 70  31 185  .211| 60| 11  14|  4| 73| 2 20  5|  4
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 12.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  15 10  47  .106   Site: Brigham Young Univ. (Smith Fieldhouse)
   2  14  7  34  .206   Date: Oct 17, 2003   Attend: 1320   Time: 2h 15m
   3  16  4  34  .353   Referees: ERIC ASAMI, DAPHNE NELSON, KAREN MARSHALL
   4  17  5  43  .279
   5   8  5  27  .111

PROVO -- Approaching the midway point in its Mountain West Conference schedule, the BYU women's volleyball team will host San Diego State Friday at 7 p.m. and UNLV Saturday at 7 p.m. Both matches will be held in the Smith Fieldhouse.

After the conclusion of the Cougars' match against the Aztecs Friday, the BYU men's volleyball team will hold its annual Blue and White Scrimmage.

BYU (13-5 overall, 3-2 MWC) is currently tied for third in the MWC with SDSU (12-8, 3-2) and is the second-best hitting team in the conference with a .255 team attack percentage.

"These are two important conference matches for us," BYU coach Karen Lamb said. "We are improving our play as a team, but now we have to take the next step and translate that to wins on the court."

The Cougars are the only conference team to have three players ranked in the MWC top 10 for hitting percentage. Lindsy Lewis-Hartsock is third at .341, Carrie Bowers is seventh at .304 and Laura Nielsen is eighth at .295. Sophomore middle blocker Lexi Brown stood out last week, as she put down a career-high 16 kills against Utah, while hitting a team-beast .349 on the week.

A strong blocking team, BYU is the No. 19 blocking team in the nation with a 2.90 blocks per game average. Senior libero Uila Crabbe continues to lead the MWC with a 3.42 digs per game average.

SDSU has struggled at times this season, suffering through three two-match losing streaks, but remains a formidable defensive team that is ranked fifth in the nation with a 3.18 blocks per game average. The Aztecs are coming off a pair of wins over Air Force and New Mexico last week.

UNLV (8-8, 2-3) has been successful at home, but has struggled on the road with a 1-5 away record. The Rebels are also coming off a pair of wins over Air Force and New Mexico to even their record.

BYU drew its largest crowd of 2,312 fans out against Utah last Friday night. BYU has drawn over 1,000 fans in each of its three conference matches so far this season. Overall, the Cougars' average attendance is 1,379, tops in the MWC.

"It's imperative for us to get off to good starts in both these matches," Lamb said. "We have to come out with energy and protect our home-court advantage."

The Cougars will have their match against San Diego State broadcast live on KBYU-TV (Channel 11), BYUTV (Dish Network [channel 9403] and DirecTV PLUS [channel 374]) and BYU-Radio. Additionally, a live audio/video stream of the BYU vs. SDSU match will be available online. All links to broadcast matches and Live Stats of all home matches will be available via the BYU women's volleyball home page at www.byucougars.com.

Weekly Notes:

Week #7 in Review ...

BYU had its first early week match of the season when it played at Weber State on Tuesday night. After dropping a close first game, the Cougars took the next three to win the match. BYU then turned around to play instate rival Utah at home in the Smith Fieldhouse. After dropping the first two games, the Cougars rose to dominate the third, but the Utes rebounded to take the fourth game and the match.

Poll Position

After spending four consecutive weeks receiving votes in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll, BYU fell out of the polls as a listed team this week. The Cougars peaked as they were listed No. 26 on Sept. 26. Since the beginning of the AVCA Coaches Top 20 Poll in 1982, BYU has been ranked a total of 252 weeks, which ranks the Cougars eighth in NCAA history.

Offensively Okay

BYU is second in the MWC with a .255 team hitting percentage. The Cougars are the only team with three players in the MWC top 10 for hitting percentage (3-Lindsy Lewis-Hartsock .341; 7-Carrie Bowers .304; 8-Laura Nielsen .295).

Brown Bomber

Sophomore middle blocker Lexi Brown is proving to be an offensive force. Last week, she led BYU with a .349 attack percentage and was second on the team with 21 kills. Against Utah, Brown recorded a career-high 16 kills while hitting a match-high .448. On the season, Brown is the Cougars' most efficient attacker, hitting at a .359 clip.

Ten-Win Mark

The Cougars are half way to 20 wins. With its win against Wyoming on Sept. 27, BYU won its 10th match of the season. Last year, the Cougars didn't win their 10th match until Nov. 1 against New Mexico. BYU's next win will be its 14th, which would equal last year's win total.

Cougar Block; Top-25 Nationally

With a block that's improving with each passing week, moved up to the No. 19 spot in national blocking with a 2.90 blocks per game average.

BYU Attendance

BYU drew its largest crowd of 2,312 fans out against Utah on Friday night. This season, the Cougars have drawn three crowds of 2,000 or more. The others were against Ohio State (2,071) and UVSC (2,086). In their eight home matches this season, the Cougars have drawn over 1,000 fans in six matches. The two matches that fell below the mark were day matches against Rice and Nevada that fell on the same days as BYU football games. BYU's average attendance is 1,379, the best in the MWC.

By the Numbers

BYU is a perfect 13-0 this season when it has a higher attack percentage than its opponent and is 10-1 when it has more digs and aces than its opponent.

Injury Update

It is relatively quiet on the injury front for the Cougars. Other than various minor bumps and bruises there is nothing serious.

Iron Women

Carrie Bowers, Lauren Richards and Uila Crabbe are the only Cougars to play in every game this season, as BYU continues to search for its most effective lineup.

Redshirts for 2003

Of BYU's eight incoming true freshman, seven are slated to redshirt the 2003 season. They are: Erica Lott, Catherine Parker, Lindsey Evans, Stacie Powell, Amy Hulse, Annie Kemp and Kimberly Dabo.

Best and Worst Starts to a Season

The Cougars' best-ever start to a season is 23-0 in 1977, a year in which they finished 34-5. BYU's worst start to a season is 1979 when it started 0-2. The Cougars have never lost more than two matches in a row to start a season.

Roster of Champions

After an unprecedented year in which nine of the 16 players on the roster sustained injury, BYU made it a mandate to recruit additional talent. While at times last year the Cougars didn't have enough players to scrimmage, with the current 21 players on the roster, BYU is not only ensured of having enough players to practice, but the team's competitive level of play in practice has risen.

Young and Experienced

Of the Cougars' nine returning letterwinners, eight have starting experience. Of those eight, all eight have the potential to be All-MWC team selections with playing time.