COUGARS WIN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

HONOLULU -- The top-ranked BYU men's volleyball team overcame a 10-6 deficit in game five to win the 2004 NCAA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship on Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu. The win marks the third national title for the Cougars and their second in the past four years.

"I don't know how we won tonight," BYU head coach Tom Peterson said. "It won't say it in any of the stat sheets. It was probably our lowest hitting percentage of the year. On the stat sheet, they outplayed us. But, the bottom line is, it just seemed like we had the heart whenever we needed it. The team absolutely did it at the end, just like they've done all year.

"I don't know how many matches we were down in this season, but it was a big number. Maybe it's because we've been there before, maybe it's a team of destiny. But, it sure doesn't show up in the stats--what these guys have inside. It's all about heart and playing as a team. That's exactly how we won."

BYU head coach Tom Peterson also made NCAA history on Saturday, becoming the first men's volleyball coach to win a National Championship with two different schools. (He led Penn State to a national title in 1994.) With the 15-30, 30-18, 20-30, 32-30, 19-17 win over the Beach, the Cougars improved to 29-4 on the season, marking the second highest single-season win total in BYU volleyball history.

Saturday's win also marked the sixth straight over Long Beach State, dating back to the 2003 season. The Cougars and 49'ers met four times this season, with BYU winning all four matches--three in five-game thrillers.

Long Beach State gained a quick 19-6 lead in game one and cruised to a 30-15 win, marking the worst-ever rally scoring loss for the Cougars.

In game two, momentum turned quickly in favor of the Cougars as they jumped out to a 16-8 lead en route to a 30-18 victory.

The match shifted towards LBSU in game three as the 49ers broke an 11-11 tie to end the game on a 19-9 run. BYU then extended the match by winning a fourth game that included 13 ties, but only two lead changes.

"I don't remember anything like that," Peterson said. "That was an incredible match. The momentum changes throughout the match were incredible. That was very unique and I don't know how to explain it."

The Cougars rallied from a 10-6, then 12-9 deficit in the fifth game and saved two championship points to win the match, 19-17. Jonathan Alleman pounded a kill, which was followed by a Scott Touzinsky attack error for championship point. Alleman scored four kills in the final game which saw seven ties. BYU had three match point opportunities, while the 49ers could not capitalize on their two chances.

Down 10-6 in the final game, Peterson called a timeout.

"I didn't say much, I didn't have to," Peterson said. "I wish I could tell you I was real involved in this magical stuff, but I'm not. The guys are the magic. It's done in practice ever day, it's done in the games. That's just the feeling you have, you don't even have to say it at times. I guess it's just magic."

Alleman led the Cougars with 17 points on 13 kills, two block solos and four total blocks. BYU's Joe Hillman added 14 kills, one block solo and two block assists. Fernando Pessoa turned in 13 killls, nine digs, two block solos and a block assist in the victory, while Michael Burke charted seven kills and seven block assists. Carlos Moreno, the AVCA Division I-II National Player of the Year, also earned the tournament's most outstanding player as he led the Cougars to a .252 team attack percentage in the championship match with 51 assists, three kills and four block assists. Victor Batista contributed nine kills with a team-high .538 attack percentage.

LBSU was led by Touzinsky's 17 kills and 24 overall points that included five aces and four block assists. Jeff Wootton chalked up 16 kills and 10 digs for a double-double, while Duncan Budinger hit .609 with 15 kills and four blocks. David Lee put up 13 kills and four block assists in the loss. Tyler Hildebrand led the 49ers to a .312 attack percentage with 65 assists. Nathan Hagstrom also turned in eight kills and six digs in the loss.

"Tonight was a perfect lesson, you just can't give up," Peterson said. "I want to say that everyone on this team is special. We've been like a family all year long. Tonight, before the match, I wrote 'family, team and heart on the board. That's what this team has been all about this season."

                              Volleyball Box Score
                        2004 BYU Men's Volleyball Stats
      No. 2 Long Beach St. vs BRIGHAM YOUNG (May 08, 2004 at Honolulu, HI)
    No. 2 Long Beach St.   |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1  Caldwell, Tyler.....  0| 16   5  28  .393|  3|  0   4|  0| 10| 0  1  0|  0|  16.5
 3  White, Phillip......  0|  3   1   4  .500| 65|  0   3|  0|  3| 2  1  0|  0|   5.5
 5  Hildebrand, Tyler...  0|  8   8  19  .000|  0|  3   6|  0|  6| 0  2  1|  0|  12.0
 6  Barbosa, Thiago.....  0| 17  11  38  .158|  0|  5   2|  0|  8| 0  4  1|  0|  24.0
 10 May, Justin.........  0| 15   1  23  .609|  1|  0   2|  0|  1| 1  3  0|  0|  17.5
 12 Hutton, Norm........  0| 13   3  25  .400|  0|  0   3|  0|  3| 0  4  0|  0|  15.0
 2  Wootton, Jeff.......  0|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  1   1|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   1.0
 4  Coe, Clint..........  0|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   2|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 8  Hagstrom, Nathan....  0|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  1   1|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   1.0
 11 Kijewski, Robert....  0|  0   0   0  .000|  2|  0   0|  1|  3| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 13 Liles, Teddy........  0|  0   0   1  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  5| 72  29 138  .312| 71| 10  24|  1| 35| 3 15  2|  0|  92.5
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 10.5
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  14  4  23  .435   GAME SCORES           1  2  3  4  5  TEAM RECORDS
   2  12  4  28  .286   No. 2 Long Beach St. 30 18 30 30 17  (28-7)
   3  19  5  27  .519   BRIGHAM YOUNG....... 15 30 20 32 19  (29-4)
   4  20 10  40  .250
   5   7  6  20  .050
    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
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  BURKE, Michael......  5|  7   3  17  .235|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  7  2|  0|  10.5
 5  MORENO, Carlos......  5|  3   2   7  .143| 51|  0   1|  0|  2| 0  4  1|  0|   5.0
 11 HILLMAN, Joe........  5| 14   4  26  .385|  1|  0   0|  0|  4| 1  2  0|  0|  16.0
 12 ALLEMAN, Jonathan...  5| 13   6  29  .241|  2|  1   6|  4|  6| 2  2  0|  0|  17.0
 17 PESSOA, Fernando....  5| 13   8  31  .161|  1|  0   4|  1|  9| 2  1  1|  0|  15.5
 18 BATISTA, Victor.....  5|  9   2  13  .538|  0|  0   2|  0|  4| 0  2  1|  0|  10.0
 7  GORNY, Chris........  5|  1   2   8 -.125|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  1  0|  0|   1.5
 14 NEILSON, Rob........  4|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   1|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 15 OLMSTEAD, Shawn.....  5|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   0|  1|  6| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 20 EVANS, TAYLOR.......  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
    TEAM................   |                 |   |       |  4|   |        |   |   0.0
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  5| 60  27 131  .252| 57|  1  14| 10| 33| 5 19  5|  0|  75.5
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 14.5
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1   7  6  23  .043   Site: Honolulu, HI (Stan Sheriff Center)
   2  20  4  31  .516   Date: May 08, 2004   Attend: 4105   Time: 2:19
   3   8  7  29  .034   Referees: Alan Stankaitis, Ken Taylor
   4  14  3  28  .393
   5  11  7  20  .200

PROVO -- After claiming the MPSF Tournament title, the top-ranked BYU men's volleyball team is set for its fourth trip in six years to the NCAA Final Four.

BYU faces fourth-seeded Lewis in the semifinal match on Thursday at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu. The match is set for 8 p.m. HST (12 a.m. MDT). No. 2 Long Beach State will play No. 3 Penn State in the first semifinal match on Thursday.

Since the Cougar program started in 1990, BYU has earned a 5-1 record in the NCAA tournament, including a 3-0 record in semi-final matches. Junior setter Carlos Moreno, the MPSF Player of the Year and Tournament MVP, and experienced seniors Fernando Pessoa, Jon Alleman and Joe Hillman helped lead the Cougars to a 27-4 overall record. Pessoa earned All-MPSF Second Team honors.

With a league-leading 20-2 record, the Cougars captured the regular-season MPSF title in head coach Tom Peterson's second season with the team. BYU also set a new school record with 21 straight wins in a single season, including 15 consecutive victories in the Smith Fieldhouse.

This season the Cougars reached the No. 1 spot of the AVCA Top-15 Poll on Mar. 9, sharing the top ranking with UCLA. After two wins over Pepperdine at home, the team secured the top spot and has stayed there for nine straight weeks.

BYU holds a 6-1 advantage against Lewis, dating back to the first meeting in 1997. The two teams met this season in the Smith Fieldhouse, where BYU captured the 3-1 win in front of a season-high crowd of 4,342 (28-30, 30-25, 30-28, 30-20). The last time the teams met in postseason was last year, when the Flyers edged the Cougars for the NCAA title in a five-game battle lasting three hours.

The 49ers of Long Beach State have a one-match lead over BYU, 12-11, but the Cougars came close to evening the series with three wins this season. BYU won the first two matches in five games during conference play and claimed the MPSF Tournament title over The Beach, 3-1.

Penn State has a slight advantage in the overall series against BYU, 5-4, but the Cougars are 3-0 in postseason action against the Nittany Lions. The series started in 1990 and the last meeting between the two teams was in the NCAA Semifinals last season in Long Beach. BYU head coach Tom Peterson coached Penn State its first-ever National Championship in 1994.

Thursday's semifinal winners will advance to the championship match on Saturday at 4 p.m. HST (8 p.m. MDT).