PROVO -- In automobile terms, the BYU men's volleyball team's status as the nation's No. 1 squad is so new it still has the new car smell. Maybe that's why the team appeared to be in no rush to give it up, avenging last season's loss to No. 2 UC Irvine (10-2, 5-2) in a three-set sweep, 30-21, 30-22 and 30-27 Friday night at the Smith Fieldhouse. With the victory, BYU improves to 9-0 overall and 5-0 in MPSF play.

The win set the tone for the weekend series between the two clubs who will face each other again Saturday night. Last season, the Cougars took a No. 1 ranking into the Anteaters' home and were swept 2-0 in a weekend series. This year, the match-up got off to a decidedly different outcome behind Yosleyder Cala, Ivan Perez and Robby Stowell, who combined for 27 of BYU's 38 kills. The trio each had nine kills in front of a crowd of 5,753, the largest of the season and ninth largest in Smith Fieldhouse history. Junior Russell Holmes recorded a game-high six total blocks.

"Ivan was very efficient for us tonight," said BYU co-head coach Shawn Patchell. "He hit .500 and had nine kills. He is a big emotional boost to our team."

Freshman Rodnei Santos got the Cougars going in set one both defensively and offensively. The middle blocker recorded four blocks and two kills for BYU, which took its first lead of the game on a Santos block that put his team ahead 3-2. The Cougars never trailed from there, leading by as many as 10 points on its way to the 30-21 win. Twice Santos sent kills crashing down the middle, inciting the crowd to a deafening eruption. UCI's nine serving errors also played a significant role in helping to build BYU's momentum in the first set. Additionally, BYU recorded 10 total blocks compared to UCI's two.

"Throughout the night our middles were huge," said Patchell. "Both Rodnei and Russell blocked well and hit well for us."

The Anteaters kept their composure and stepped up their game in set two, building an early 9-5 advantage over the Cougars. BYU responded to the pressure by putting together an 8-3 run of its own to take a 13-12 lead. The teams continued to battle, matching each other point-for-point, until they found themselves knotted at 17. BYU scored the next five in a row and, just as it did in set one, never looked back en route to a 30-22 victory. UCI repeated its previous mistakes by committing seven serving errors in the set. It was Anteater freshman Cole Reinholm who served it long to give the Cougars the set-winning point.

Set three displayed a little bit of deja vu, as UCI stormed out to another 9-5 lead, proving it would not go away easily. Once again, BYU responded with a run -- this time a 5-1 run that evened the score at 10-all. From that point, neither team led by more than two points until UCI returned the ball out of bounds, giving the Cougars a 28-25 margin. The set saw five ties during that span. Holmes made the set and match-winning block, keeping BYU's undefeated season alive.

David Smith and Aaron Harrell led UCI with eight kills apiece. Reigning National Player of the Year Jason Jablonsky recorded six kills and two blocks for the Anteaters.

BYU faces UC Irvine for the final match of its weekend series Sat., Feb. 3, at the Smith Fieldhouse. Game time is set for 7 p.m. MST.

Volleyball Box Score
                            The Automated ScoreBook
    #2 UCI vs #1 Brigham Young Univ. (Feb 02, 2007 at Smith Fieldhouse BYU)
    UCI                    |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 2  Wilson, Taylor......  3|  2   5  11 -.273|  1|  0   2|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0
 7  Thornton, Brian.....  3|  1   0   2  .500| 34|  0   2|  0|  2| 0  1  0|  0
 11 Jablonsky, Jayson...  3|  6   6  16  .000|  1|  1   3|  0|  3| 0  2  0|  0
 13 Webber, Matt........  3|  7   7  20  .000|  0|  0   3|  1| 10| 0  1  0|  0
 15 Smith, David........  3|  8   2  14  .429|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 1  3  1|  0
 21 Harrell, Aaron......  3|  8   2  14  .429|  1|  0   3|  0|  1| 0  1  0|  0
 1  Steller, Jon........  3|  5   2  10  .300|  0|  0   3|  0|  1| 0  1  0|  0
 3  Ammerman, Ryan......  1|  0   1   2 -.500|  1|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 5  Reinholm, Cole......  2|  4   2   7  .286|  0|  1   3|  2|  1| 0  0  0|  0
 6  Spittle, Nick.......  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 8  Asuka, Brent........  2|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  1|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  3| 41  27  96  .146| 38|  2  20|  4| 19| 1  9  1|  0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 5.5
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  13 13  35  .000   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  TEAM RECORDS
   2  12  9  28  .107   UCI................. (0) 21 22 27  10-2, 5-2
   3  16  5  33  .333   Brigham Young Univ.. (3) 30 30 30  9-0, 5-0
    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
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1  CALA, Yosleyder.....  3|  9   4  20  .250|  1|  0   2|  2|  4| 0  1  0|  0
 2  SANTOS, Rodnei......  3|  6   0   7  .857|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 1  4  0|  0
 8  PEREZ, Ivan.........  3|  9   2  14  .500|  0|  0   4|  0|  4| 0  3  1|  0
 11 HOLMES, Russell.....  3|  5   2  12  .250|  1|  2   3|  0|  1| 1  5  1|  0
 13 STOWELL, Robby......  3|  9   3  18  .333|  0|  0   2|  0|  5| 0  1  0|  0
 14 PEREZ, Yamil........  3|  0   0   1  .000| 36|  2   3|  0|  3| 0  4  1|  0
 5  COX, Scott..........  2|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 6  SILVA, Joel.........  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  6| 0  0  0|  0
 7  SORENSEN, Trent.....  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  3| 38  11  72  .375| 38|  4  15|  2| 23| 2 18  3|  0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 11.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1   8  2  17  .353   Site: Smith Fieldhouse BYU (Elaine Michaelis)
   2  12  4  19  .421   Date: Feb 02, 2007   Attend: 5753   Time: 1h 40m
   3  18  5  36  .361   Referees: Burt Fuller, Tom Given, Maetani

PROVO -- Newly annointed No. 1 BYU will have its hands full holding on to the top ranking as the Cougars welcome No. 2 UC Irvine to the Smith Fieldhouse for a pair of weekend matches Friday and Saturday. BYU took over the top spot from the Anteaters after the Cougars' defeats of No. 9 Penn State and No. 13 Loyola-Chicago in Honolulu. BYU have a shot at revenge after losing consecutive matches to UCI last season.

SERIES INFORMATION

Despite last season's sweep by the Anteaters, BYU has dominated the overall series between the two teams. After dropping the first four matches between the two teams, the Cougars beat UC Irvine 17 consecutive times and 28 of the next 29 matches. Last seasons' consecutive losses to UCI marked the first time the Anteaters beat BYU in consecutive matches since 1991. The last time UC Irvine beat BYU at the Smith Fieldhouse was February 21 and 22, 1991.

ALL-OUTRIGGER HOTELS INVITATIONAL

Over half of BYU's starting line up was recognized for their efforts last weekend by being named to the Outrigger Hotels Invitational's All-Tournament team. Russell Holmes, who was also named AVCA National Player of the Week, was also named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Also recognized was outside hitter Yosleyder Cala, opposite hitter Robby Stowell and setter Yamil Perez.

LAST WEEK RECAP

FRIDAY--Russell Holmes and Robby Stowell, coupled with hot serving, led No. 2 BYU to a dominating sweep over No. 9 Penn State (1-2), 30-22, 30-23, 30-18. The sweep was the fifth consecutive for the Cougars. Holmes dominated the middle, leading the Cougars in kills (11), blocks (six) and hitting percentage (.667). Stowell added 11 kills of his own while swinging at a .474 mark. Ivan Perez (four aces) and Yosleyder Cala (three aces) were dominating behind the service line.

SATURDAY--It was the eighth consecutive victory and sixth consecutive sweep for No. 2 BYU as the Cougars swept No. 13 Loyola-Chicago, 30-16, 30-22 and 30-22. The dominating BYU win came just one night after the Ramblers upset No. 3--and tournament host--Hawaii in five games. Interestingly, BYU did not trail at any point in any of the sets against Loyola Chicago. Russell Holmes was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Yosleyder Cala, Robby Stowell and Yamil Perez were also named to the Outrigger Hotels Invitational's All-Tournament team.

DOMINATING START

BYU is off to its most dominating start in program history (in terms of sets won vs. sets lost) in its first eight matches. BYU has won 24 sets against only one loss. Previous to this season, the next best start in school history was the 2001 championship season when the Cougars started 10-0. In its first seven matches, BYU won 24 sets while losing two sets (both against Lewis). The Cougars swept eight of their first 10 matches in 2001.

BRING OUT THE BROOMS

With the Cougars sweep over Loyola-Chicago Jan. 27, it marked a record sixth consecutive match BYU won in straight sets. Previously the record was in 2001 when the Cougars swept five consecutive matches. The record for sweeps in a season was the 1999, 30-1 National Championship squad that swept 20 matches.

HOME WINNING STREAK

With BYU's 4-0 start, the Cougars have now won 10 consecutive home matches. The last time BYU lost at home was Feb. 4, 2007 when the Cougars lost, 3-0 to Pepperdine. BYU was 13-1 last season at the Smith Fieldhouse.