PROVO -- Despite a 19-kill performance by outside hitter Kim Wilson, BYU could not hold off No. 23 Utah Saturday in the Mountain West Conference opener for both teams. The Cougars came out on the short end of four hard-fought games as the Utes prevailed 30-26, 23-30, 30-28, 30-26.

"Kim (Wilson) had a great night," BYU coach Karen Lamb said. "I'm proud of her effort. As a team, we just made too many errors. We just beat ourselves."

The turning point in the match came in game three. After winning game two, 30-23, BYU led nearly the entire way in game three before losing a 30-28 decision to the Utes. A 27-24 BYU lead became a 28-27 Utah advantage -- its first since 5-4 -- thanks to multiple BYU errors. BYU would score once more before Utah's Lindsey Henderson muscled a shot through the Cougar block for the game winner.

"Our errors were really a matter of our players trying too hard because they really wanted it," Lamb said. "I don't fault them for really wanting to make those plays but we need to just trust what we are doing and let everyone do their jobs."

Utah held off the Cougars again in game four, scoring four straight points to close out the match after a 26-26 tie. Henderson made a momentum building play to start the run by lunging to backhand the ball over the net. Utah eventually won the point to take the lead for good.

Joining Wilson in double-digit kills for BYU was fellow outside hitter April Varner, who came off the bench in game one to total 11 kills. Wilson put down her game-high 19 kills while making only four hitting errors for a .395 attack percentage. Lindsey Evans achieved a career high of 21 digs.

Henderson led the Utes with 14 kills while Shelly Sommerfeldt added 13. The Utes hit .174 as a team while BYU had a .157 attack percentage.

With the loss, BYU is now 5-5 on the year and 0-1 in Mountain West Conference play while Utah improves to 8-2 and 1-0.

                              Volleyball Box Score
                    Brigham Young Univ. Cougars - Volleyball
   Univ. of Utah vs Brigham Young Univ. (Sep 24, 2004 at Brigham Young Univ.)
    Univ. of Utah          |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  TOONE, Amie.........  4|  2   2  11  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  2| 1  0  0|  0
 4  SOMMERFELDT, Shelly.  4| 13   4  32  .281|  0|  1   1|  5|  5| 0  1  0|  0
 5  BORTOTO, Liana......  4|  8   5  30  .100|  0|  0   0|  2|  8| 2  2  0|  0
 6  KARTCHNER, Kelsie...  4|  4   4  24  .000| 20|  0   2|  0|  8| 0  2  1|  0
 15 TOONE, Emillie......  4|  5   2  12  .250|  1|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  2  0|  0
 16 HENDERSON, Lyndsey..  4| 14   7  32  .219|  0|  0   4|  0|  2| 1  7  1|  0
 2  ROBISON, Kate.......  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 8  NEUMEIER, Tracy.....  4|  1   0   3  .333| 23|  0   1|  0|  4| 0  0  0|  1
 9  LEICHLITER, Danielle  4|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  1   1|  1|  3| 0  0  0|  0
 12 ELLETT, Katrena.....  2|  3   0   5  .600|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 1  0  0|  0
 14 DANGERFIELD, Connie.  4|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  1   3|  1| 18| 0  0  0|  1
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  4| 50  24 149  .174| 46|  3  13|  9| 51| 5 14  2|  2
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 12.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  11  8  34  .088   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  4  TEAM RECORDS
   2  11  9  35  .057   Univ. of Utah....... (3) 30 23 30 30  8-2
   3  13  1  36  .333   Brigham Young Univ.. (1) 26 30 28 26  5-5
   4  15  6  44  .205
    Brigham Young Univ.    |     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|  5   5  18  .000| 46|  2   6|  0| 14| 0  5  0|  4
 6  METCALF, Lindsey....  4|  8   4  22  .182|  5|  1   2|  0| 10| 0  2  0|  0
 7  WILSON, Kim.........  4| 19   4  38  .395|  0|  2   3|  1|  7| 1  1  0|  1
 9  BROWN, Lexi.........  4|  7   9  23 -.087|  0|  0   2|  0|  5| 1  3  1|  0
 10 LOTT, Erica.........  2|  1   5   8 -.500|  0|  1   0|  0|  0| 0  1  0|  0
 14 HARTSOCK, Lindsy....  4|  8   4  16  .250|  0|  1   1|  0|  1| 0  5  0|  0
 3  VARNER, April.......  4| 11   4  33  .212|  0|  2   2|  1|  8| 1  1  0|  1
 16 EVANS, Lindsey......  4|  1   0   1 1.000|  1|  0   1|  1| 21| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  4| 60  35 159  .157| 52|  9  17|  3| 66| 3 18  1|  6
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 12.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  11 11  37  .000   Site: Brigham Young Univ. (Smith Fieldhouse)
   2  14  6  35  .229   Date: Sep 24, 2004   Attend: 2062   Time: 2H 20M
   3  21  8  43  .302   Referees: KEN TAYLOR, MAILEE JEWKES, KAREN MARSHALL
   4  14 10  44  .091

PROVO -- The Cougars open Mountain West Conference play this Friday night against perennial in-state rival Utah, hoping to snap an eight-game series losing streak against the No. 23 Utes and earn state bragging rights.

"Utah is a very good team," said BYU head coach Karen Lamb. "We're pretty similar to them as far as stats go. The key will be serving and passing; these elements are critical for both teams. When each team has done well, their serving and passing has been stable."

BYU is coming off a rough weekend in the BYU/Utah Challenge. The Cougars were 1-2 in the event with a heart-breaking five-game loss against Saint Mary's and a four-game loss against then-No. 6 UCLA after opening the Challenge with a win over Northern Colorado. In contrast, the 7-2 Utes defeated all three teams over the weekend, including a five-game upset of the Bruins, and catapulted back into the USA Today / CSTV Top 25 Coaches Poll after a two-week absence.

Despite a 5-4 start to the season, the Cougars are excited about their prospects. BYU ranks in the top half of the conference in all but one statistical category and sophomore middle blocker Lindsy Hartsock leads the league in hitting percentage (.417) and is second in blocks per game (1.73).

"We're very close to being a great team," said Lamb. "We're working on some refinements and we believe that with continued work, we can get there."

The BYU/Utah rivalry has been hotly contested since the first match in 1970. The Cougars own a 61-15 record against the Utes, including a 29-5 home mark, but have lost the last eight meetings between the two teams. BYU's most recent win came in September of 2001 under former Cougar head coach Elaine Michaelis.

Match time is set for 7 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse. Fans can also enjoy the game live on KBYU and BYU-TV. Live stats will be available on the schedule page of the BYU Women's Volleyball home page at www.byucougars.com.