Provo, UT -- Sparked by an impressive hitting and blocking effort, the Cougars opened up the weekend with a four-game win over visiting Northern Colorado.

"We slowed down a little in the third game as I tried to put more people in, but overall we played very well," said BYU head coach Karen Lamb. "I'm especially pleased with our blocking and hitting."

Everyone contributed in the win for BYU, which dropped the Bears to 5-4 on the year and elevated the Cougars to 5-2. Four Cougars had double-digit kills in the match as Kim Wilson and Erica Lott recorded 13 apiece while Lindsey Metcalf had 12 and Lindsy Hartsock had 10 enroute to a .304 team hitting percentage.

Cougar defense also dominated as BYU out-dug the Bears 47-38 and out-blocked them 15-9. In her first collegiate start, redshirt freshman libero Stacie Powell recorded eight digs. In the team effort, Wilson also contributed eight digs. Lexi Brown, coming off an ankle injury that kept her out of last week's Mizuno Classic tournament, notched seven blocks for the Cougars, as did Metcalf. The Cougars' defense held the Bears to .047 hitting in the match.

"Everyone is playing well and we're getting more parody in the offense," said Lamb. "We've found a comfortable spot for Lindsey (Metcalf), Stacie (Powell) had a solid game and Lexi (Brown) had a nice match coming off her injury. We're finding the line-ups that work."

Game one was all BYU. The Cougars were firing on all cylinders as they took control of the match from the start, jumping out to an early 12-3 lead. From there, the Cougars never looked back, winning 30-19 and hitting an amazing .533 for the game on 18 kills and only two errors.

The Bears kept the Cougars on their toes early in game two, going down 8-3 but coming back to tie it up at 11-11. But it would not be enough as a kill by Hartsock put the Cougars up 16-13 and sparked a 6-1 BYU run. The Cougars easily closed out the match at 30-20 and held Northern Colorado to a .000 hitting percentage.

BYU struggled in game three as the younger Cougars saw increased action. The Bears took an early lead and never let the Cougars get within three points as they help BYU to just .048 hitting. A 5-0 BYU run was too little too late as Northern Colorado took game three, 30-25.

But the Cougars regained their composure in game four, proving their dominance in a lopsided 30-15 victory. BYU actually held the Bears to a -.194 hitting percentage on just five kills while racking up 17 kills, 14 digs and four blocks of their own in the course of the game.

Up next for the Cougars is 8-0 Saint Mary's. The Gaels are off to their best start in school history and have won their last six consecutive non-conference tournaments dating back to the 2003 season. That game will be played Friday evening at 7:30 in the Smith Fieldhouse. Live audio will be available on BYU Radio and fans can also access live stats at http://www.byucougars.com/Schedule.jsp?SP=202&YR=2004.

                              Volleyball Box Score
                     Brigham Young University - Volleyball
        Northern Colorado vs BYU Cougars (Sep 17, 2004 at BYU PROVO, UT)
    Northern Colorado      |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5  DEFFENBAUGH, Erin...  4| 12   7  42  .119|  0|  2   2|  4|  9| 0  2  0|  0
 10 CASSELMAN, Amy......  4|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  5| 0  0  0|  0
 11 WIGGINS, Amanda.....  3|  3   5  16 -.125|  0|  1   1|  1|  5| 0  2  0|  0
 14 ANGUS, Danelle......  4|  7   5  16  .125|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  6  0|  0
 15 CHAPIN, Corrinne....  4|  0   2   6 -.333| 30|  0   0|  1|  5| 0  3  0|  0
 20 VEAL, Danni.........  2|  0   3   4 -.750|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 1  PAGEL, Ashley.......  3|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  1   3|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0
 2  MAYNE, Abby.........  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   2|  0|  4| 0  0  0|  0
 3  LEDALL, Maggie......  4|  9   4  20  .250|  1|  0   1|  0|  1| 0  1  0|  0
 4  LEDALL, Terin.......  4|  3   1  12  .167|  1|  0   1|  2|  7| 1  0  0|  0
 8  KLIEN, Meredith.....  1|  0   1   2 -.500|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0
 19 RHODES, Lizzy.......  4|  3   3   9  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  2  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  4| 37  31 127  .047| 33|  4  11|  8| 38| 1 16  0|  0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 9.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1   9  8  28  .036   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  4  TEAM RECORDS
   2   7  7  28  .000   Northern Colorado... (1) 19 20 30 15  5-4
   3  16  5  40  .275   BYU Cougars......... (3) 30 30 25 30  5-2
   4   5 11  31 -.194
    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....  4|  4   4   9  .000| 52|  2   5|  0|  6| 0  2  1|  2
 6  METCALF, Lindsey....  4| 12   5  23  .304|  4|  1   1|  0|  7| 0  7  0|  0
 7  WILSON, Kim.........  4| 13   2  26  .423|  0|  2   6|  0|  8| 1  1  0|  0
 9  BROWN, Lexi.........  4|  9   3  18  .333|  0|  0   1|  0|  3| 0  7  0|  0
 10 LOTT, Erica.........  4| 13   1  27  .444|  0|  0   3|  0|  2| 1  2  0|  0
 14 HARTSOCK, Lindsy....  4| 10   2  17  .471|  0|  3   3|  0|  3| 0  5  0|  0
 1  GOODMAN, Chelsea....  1|  1   0   2  .500|  1|  0   0|  0|  3| 0  0  0|  0
 3  VARNER, April.......  1|  2   3  12 -.083|  0|  0   0|  1|  0| 1  0  0|  0
 12 PARKER, Catherine...  1|  0   1   3 -.333|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 16 EVANS, Lindsey......  4|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  1|  7| 0  0  0|  0
 17 POWELL, Stacie......  3|  0   1   1-1.000|  0|  0   0|  2|  8| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  4| 64  22 138  .304| 57|  8  19|  4| 47| 3 24  1|  2
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 15.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  18  2  30  .533   Site: BYU PROVO, UT (Smith Fieldhouse)
   2  16  5  36  .306   Date: Sep 17, 2004   Attend: 302   Time: 1H 45M
   3  13 11  42  .048   Referees: BRUCE GRANT, ANNETTE COTTLE, KAREN MARSHALL
   4  17  4  30  .433

BYU Welcomes #6 UCLA Into Provo

PROVO -- The Cougars continue a seven-game homestand this weekend as they co-host the BYU/Utah Challenge. With matches against Northern Colorado, Saint Mary's and #6 UCLA, BYU will look to improve its 4-2 season record.

"Each team we play this weekend will be good," said BYU head coach Karen Lamb. "We are going to have to be consistently good in every phase of the game. That's what good teams do -- they play their best game every night."

BYU is 2-1 at home this season after a Mizuno Classic showing in which the Cougars defeated Memphis and Central Florida but lost in five games to Oklahoma.

Redshirt freshman Erica Lott and junior Kim Wilson, both outside hitters, earned BYU Mizuno Classic All-Tournament Team honors over the weekend. Lott recorded double-digit kills in two of the three Mizuno matches with 13 against Memphis and a career-high 19 against Oklahoma. She also notched ten service aces for the Tournament. Wilson, who leads the Cougars in kills per game with 3.86, also recorded 13 kills against Memphis and 20 against Oklahoma, marking the second straight weekend that Wilson has recorded 20 or more kills in a match.

BYU will open the Challenge against Northern Colorado Friday morning at 10 a.m. All Provo District students will receive free admission to the match as school is not in session and a 2-for-1 pass for one of the two remaining weekend games.

The Cougars will then take on Saint Mary's Friday night at 7:30 p.m. and UCLA Saturday evening at 5 p.m. The Saint Mary's matchup will be featured on BYU Radio and live stats will be available for all matches by going to the schedule page of the BYU Women's Volleyball homepage at byucougars.com/volleyball_w.

The following is a look at the teams that will take the floor against BYU this weekend:

In just their second year of Division I status, the Northern Colorado Bears are 5-3 to start the 2004 season. The reigning Division I Independent National Champions have notched wins over BYU Mountain West Conference rivals Air Force and Wyoming while falling to New Mexico. Outside hitter Erin Deffenbaugh earned AVCA Independent National Player of the Week Honors along with Bears setter Corrinne Chapin, who picked up Setter of the Week accolades.

Saint Mary's comes to Provo a perfect 8-0 to start the 2004 season, the best start in school history, after notching wins over BYU opponent Utah State and then-No. 6 Stanford. The Gaels have won six consecutive non-conference tournaments dating back to the 2003 season and are listed No. 26 in this week's USA Today / CSTV Top 25 Coaches Poll.

The UCLA Bruins are looking to bounce back from a five-game loss at #11 Hawai'i last week after starting the season 6-0. The Bruins swept then-No. 15 Texas A&M and then-No. 17 Santa Clara and were ranked as high as No. 3 before suffering a setback at the hands of the Rainbow Wahine. UCLA is the only team the Cougars will face this season with which they have a losing series record at 5-22-1. Bruins head coach Andy Banachowski will be looking for his 970th win this weekend and is the NCAA Division I leader in overall victories, ahead of former BYU head coach Elaine Michaelis. BYU is 116-123 all-time against ranked opponents.