PROVO -- The Cougars cruised to victory Friday night over the visiting Air Force Falcons, 30-19, 30-15, 30-12, lifting them over .500 in Mountain West Conference play as they move to 13-9 overall and 5-4 in league action on the season.

"Getting a sweep is something we've been working on a lot," said BYU head coach Karen Lamb. "I'm always happy to see us win in three. I know that Air Force is a better team than we saw tonight, but we did a lot of things to take them out of their offense. It really gives us confidence."

BYU dominated in every aspect of the game as the Falcons were never able to find their rhythm and the Cougars once again proved tough on both sides of the ball. The BYU offense recorded 42 total kills on .402 hitting, the third highest efficiency mark of the season for the Cougars. The BYU defense was impenetrable as the Cougars picked up 34 digs and 12 blocks while holding the Falcons to just 19 kills on -.114 hitting, the second best defensive mark of the year for BYU. The Cougars were also helped by seven service aces.

Junior Lexi Brown led BYU with her second consecutive double-digit kills night as she recorded a match-high 14 kills and just one error to hit .650. April Varner also made it to double figures for the second match in a row as she notched 11 kills. True freshman Chelsea Goodman, who has seen increased playing time as the season has progressed, picked up a career-high 11 digs to lead all players.

"Lexi Brown had a very nice night offensively," Lamb said. "We did a nice job of getting more production from our serves and keeping the point totals low consistently."

The victory marks the sixth straight win for the Cougars against the Falcons and the 14th win overall in the series history between the two teams, which BYU now leads 14-1. With the sweep, the Cougars have now recorded eight three-game victories on the season.

BYU will next be in action Saturday night at 7 p.m. when the Cougars take on the New Mexico Lobos in the Smith Fieldhouse. BYU has swept New Mexico in the last 19 straight meetings between the two teams. The match will be broadcast live on KBYU and BYU-TV. Live stats are also available by going to the BYU Women's Volleyball homepage at http://www.byucougars.com/volleyball_w/.

                              Volleyball Box Score
                        Brigham Young University Cougars
        Air Force vs Brigham Young (Oct 29, 2004 at BYU PROVO UT 84602)
    Air Force              |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  SIEFKEN, Carly......  3|  0   0   2  .000| 16|  0   0|  0|  5| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 7  JEFFERSON, Lamecca..  3|  2   6  17 -.235|  0|  0   1|  3|  4| 0  0  1|  0|   2.0
 8  BENGARD, Lindsay....  3|  1   1   3  .000|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   1.0
 13 GALLEGOS, Rebecca...  3|  1   5  10 -.400|  0|  0   2|  1|  5| 0  0  0|  0|   1.0
 16 WHITE, Molly........  3|  6   4  22  .091|  0|  0   2|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  1|   6.0
 23 HAMLETT, Kristin....  3|  6   7  19 -.053|  0|  0   1|  0|  2| 0  0  1|  1|   6.0
 2  BURKE, Jenalee......  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  1|  3| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 3  ARRINGTON, Elizabeth  2|  2   1   7  .143|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   2.0
 9  OLIGNEY, Brittany...  3|  1   5   7 -.571|  0|  0   2|  2|  2| 0  0  0|  0|   1.0
 11 KALLABIS, Kimberly..  2|  0   0   0  .000|  2|  0   1|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 15 MOONEY, Rachael.....  2|  0   0   1  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  3| 19  29  88 -.114| 18|  0  10|  7| 22| 0  0  2|  2|  19.0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 0.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1   7  7  28  .000   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  TEAM RECORDS
   2   9 13  36 -.111   Air Force........... (0) 19 15 12  4-16; 0-10 MWC
   3   3  9  24 -.250   Brigham Young....... (3) 30 30 30  13-9; 5-4
    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
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1  GOODMAN, Chelsea....  3|  8   2  15  .400|  1|  2   5|  0| 11| 0  3  1|  0|  11.5
 3  VARNER, April.......  3| 10   4  24  .250|  1|  0   2|  0|  3| 0  3  0|  0|  11.5
 5  RICHARDS, Lauren....  3|  2   1   3  .333| 32|  0   3|  0|  3| 0  5  0|  1|   4.5
 6  METCALF, Lindsey....  3|  2   0   8  .250|  0|  4   2|  0|  7| 1  1  0|  0|   7.5
 9  BROWN, Lexi.........  3| 14   1  20  .650|  1|  0   2|  0|  1| 0  6  0|  0|  17.0
 14 HARTSOCK, Lindsy....  3|  6   1  12  .417|  0|  1   0|  0|  3| 0  4  1|  0|   9.0
 7  WILSON, Kim.........  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 16 EVANS, Lindsey......  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 17 POWELL, Stacie......  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  5| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 20 JUDKINS, Jenna......  1|  0   0   0  .000|  2|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  3| 42   9  82  .402| 37|  7  15|  0| 34| 1 22  2|  1|  61.0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 12.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  14  4  31  .323   Site: BYU PROVO UT 84602 (Smith Fieldhouse)
   2  12  3  24  .375   Date: Oct 29, 2004   Attend: 917   Time: 1H 25M
   3  16  2  27  .519   Referees: ERIC ASAMI, ANNETTE COTTLE, KAREN MARSHALL
                                         1   2   3 Total
                        Tie scores       6   3   2    11
                        Lead changes     1   4   1     6

PROVO -- The Cougars will step back into Mountain West Conference play this week as they host the Air Force Falcons and the New Mexico Lobos Friday and Saturday nights at 7 p.m. With a 12-9 overall record and a 4-4 MWC mark, BYU is looking to make a statement in the second half of league play.

"Every win is important right now," said BYU head coach Karen Lamb. "There are no give-me's. We just have to take care of business with our team, do our part and play well. Every win matters."

The Cougars have had a lot to be proud of this season despite a less-than-perfect record. As of the latest national rankings, released on Oct. 26, BYU ranks 11th in the nation in blocks per game (3.24) and 22nd in hitting percentage (.272). Sophomore middle blocker Lindsy Hartsock moved up in the national rankings to the number two spot, averaging 1.85 blocks per game. Her hitting percentage (.416) also ranks fourth in the nation.

This week's conference matchups will present challenges and opportunities for the Cougars. BYU swept both teams in earlier meetings this season on the road but will have to be focused in order to avoid an upset at the hands of the two squads bringing up the rear of the league. The Cougars own a 13-1 series advantage over the Falcons and a 55-7 lead over New Mexico. BYU has actually swept the Lobos in the last 19 straight contests, dating back to 1995.

Fans can catch all the action with live stats from both matches by going to the BYU Women's Volleyball homepage at http://www.byucougars.com/volleyball_w/. Saturday night's contest will also be featured live on KBYU and BYU-TV.

In last week's action, the Cougars went 1-1 in matches close to home as they dropped a three-game contest at Utah on Saturday but picked up a four-game win at UVSC Tuesday night, their second straight win over the Wolverines.

Lexi Brown recorded double-digit kills in both matches as she picked up 10 against the Utes, the only Cougar in double figures, and 11 against the Wolverines. Senior April Varner starred against UVSC with 21 kills and 17 digs, both season-highs.

Here's an indepth look at the opponents BYU will face this weekend:

AIR FORCE

Despite being just 4-15 overall and 0-9 in the Mountain West Conference, the Falcons have shown promise this season, taking single games from both Utah and Colorado State despite match losses and taking seven other teams to at least four games.

Junior Carly Siefken is ranked fifth in MWC with 10.81 assists per game. Classmate Kristin Hamlett is also ranked fifth with 3.42 kills per game and fellow junior Rebecca Gallegos' 0.28 aces per game is the eighth-best average in the league.

NEW MEXICO

At 7-13 overall and 1-8 in the Mountain West Conference, the Lobos are looking to make a push leading up to the MWC Tournament. New Mexico is currently third blocks per game in MWC play with 3.11, just behind BYU and Utah.

Junior Nicole Ryan leads the team and is ninth in the Mountain West with 3.27 kills per game. In Mountain West matches, she is seventh with 3.39 kills per game. Preseason All-MWC senior Adah Burke leads the team and is third in the league with 4.15 digs per game. She dug a career-high 32 in the Wyoming match Sept. 24, which is third most in a match in school history and second most in an MWC match. Freshman Samie Weber leads the team with 92 blocks (1.26 per game), ranking sixth in the Mountain West. She's also third in conference play with 1.45 per game.