BYU has Spark Back in Win over UNLV
PROVO -- All-American Nina Puikkonen recorded 15 kills to lead No. 14 BYU to a 3-0 sweep of UNLV Saturday at the Smith Fieldhouse. The Cougars improved to 12-2 overall and 6-1 in the Mountain West Conference with their 30-21, 33-31, 30-19 victory.
"We came out tonight and had the spark back," said BYU coach Elaine Michaelis, who said her team had not played very well in the past three matches. "We played smart and were able to make some nice adjustments when necessary."
After Michaelis' team turned a 19-16 advantage in game one into a 30-21 win, the Cougars found themselves down 14-7 in game two, thanks to a strong serving string by UNLV's Leiana Oswald. After a timeout, BYU came back with three straight points and eventually tied the match at 25-all on a Jackie Bundy service ace.
"We made some adjustments in game two," Michaelis said. "We were able to give our hitters more room so they could hit the seams. Our players are competitors. Sometimes we let ourselves get into a position we shouldn't, but when it gets tough they play good defense and block well, which is what you have to do to get back in it."
Natalie Whittaker was the defensive key to the 33-31 come-from-behind win in game two, coming up with eight of her match-high 13 digs during the game. "If I get a couple really good digs it really bring me into the game more," Whittaker said. She also finished the night with six kills.
The Cougars turned the table on the Rebels in game three, jumping out to their own 14-7 lead. The Cougars, however, did not allow UNLV to get any momentum and cruised to the 30-19 win in the decisive game.
BYU hit .228 on the night with 50 kills while holding the Rebels to a .161 percentage on 38 kills. The Cougars out blocked UNLV 10.5 to 10 to improve to 12-0 this year when they out block their opponents. BYU came up with 52 digs to the UNLV's 42 and tied a season high with nine aces, led by Bundy who set a personal career best with four aces on the night.
Sunny Mahe joined Puikkonen in double-digit kills, putting down 11. Bundy, who added nine kills, shared team-high honors in blocks with Mahe and Puikkonen as each player totaled five.
Sheila Ocasio-Clemente was the only Rebel to reach double figures in kills with 10. She hit .400 on the night with only two errors in 20 attempts. UNLV dropped to 5-9 overall and 2-5 in the conference with the loss.
BYU prepares for two in-state rivals next week. BYU hosts Utah State Tuesday in the Smith Fieldhouse before traveling to Salt Lake City to face No. 18 Utah on Friday.
Volleyball Box ScoreThe Automated ScoreBook
UNLV Rebels vs BYU Cougars (Oct 13, 2001 at BYU PROVO UTAH)
UNLV Rebels | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN
## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS
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1 KING, Nicki......... 3| 0 1 3 -.333| 16| 1 1| 0| 3| 0 0 0| 2| 1.0
3 ASSUNCAO, Patricia.. 3| 8 4 29 .138| 1| 0 2| 5| 11| 0 3 0| 1| 9.5
4 OSWALD, Leiana...... 3| 6 5 24 .042| 1| 0 3| 3| 10| 0 1 0| 0| 6.5
9 OCASIO-CLEMENTE, She 3| 10 2 20 .400| 0| 3 2| 0| 1| 0 5 1| 1| 15.5
10 MACKEY, Janna....... 1| 0 0 0 .000| 1| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
14 JOHNSON, Michelle... 3| 4 4 20 .000| 1| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 3 1| 0| 5.5
5 CHASE, Shannon...... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 2| 1| 2| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
11 WILKES, Blair....... 3| 9 2 18 .389| 1| 0 1| 0| 6| 0 5 0| 0| 11.5
15 KIRSCHNER, Christina 3| 1 1 3 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 2| 0 3 0| 0| 2.5
18 FRANCHINI, Nina..... 2| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 4| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
25 LEWIS, Amy.......... 3| 0 0 1 .000| 15| 0 0| 0| 3| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
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Totals.............. 3| 38 19 118 .161| 36| 4 11| 9| 42| 0 20 2| 4| 52.0
TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 10.0
Game K E TA Pct
1 13 7 40 .150 GAME SCORES 1 2 3 TEAM RECORDS
2 13 6 46 .152 UNLV Rebels......... 21 31 19 5 - 9 ; 2 - 5 MWC
3 12 6 32 .188 BYU Cougars......... 30 33 30 12 - 2 ; 6 - 1 MWC
BYU Cougars | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN
## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS
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2 WHITTAKER, Natalie.. 3| 6 2 20 .200| 0| 0 0| 0| 13| 0 1 0| 0| 6.5
5 PUIKKONEN, Karina... 3| 4 0 5 .800| 38| 1 0| 0| 7| 0 4 0| 1| 7.0
9 PUIKKONEN, Nina..... 3| 15 7 34 .235| 2| 1 3| 0| 9| 0 5 0| 0| 18.5
10 BUNDY, Jackie....... 3| 9 5 24 .167| 1| 4 1| 2| 9| 0 5 1| 0| 15.5
12 CRABBE, Uila........ 3| 0 1 1-1.000| 0| 2 2| 1| 7| 0 0 0| 0| 2.0
15 MAHE, Sunny......... 3| 11 2 25 .360| 2| 1 0| 1| 6| 0 5 0| 0| 14.5
6 STEELE, Lindsey..... 2| 0 1 1-1.000| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0
11 RICHARDS, Lauren.... 3| 5 4 13 .077| 0| 0 0| 0| 1| 0 1 0| 0| 5.5
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Totals.............. 3| 50 22 123 .228| 43| 9 6| 4| 52| 0 21 1| 1| 69.5
TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 10.5
Game K E TA Pct
1 18 5 40 .325 Site: BYU PROVO UTAH (SMITH FIELDHOUSE)
2 17 12 51 .098 Date: Oct 13, 2001 Attend: 1168 Time: 1H 20M
3 15 5 32 .312 Referees: GARY HOUGHTON, TOM GIVEN, MARINDA ASHMAN
