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PROVO -- Playing its final home match of the season, a season-high 3,878 fans were in attendance as the No. 6 BYU men’s volleyball team dropped a tough 3-1 match (30-28, 26-30, 30-27, 30-27) to No. 1 UC Irvine Friday night in the Smith Fieldhouse. With the loss the Cougars and Anteaters split the weekend series and BYU falls to 15-10, 11-7 MPSF on the season.

The Cougars finished their 2009 home season with a 9-3 record, having lost only five matches in the past three years.

“It would have been nice to sweep this weekend, but we have to move on and keep playing,” said BYU head coach Shawn Patchell. “I liked out matchups and thought we were playing well enough to win, but UCI made some great plays. It was good volleyball tonight. The crowd seemed to enjoy it.”

The crowd of 3,878 not only marked the largest to visit the Fieldhouse this season, but the largest since Feb. 3, 2007 when 5,603 came to watch then-top ranked BYU fall to then-No. 2 UCI in a battle similar to Friday night’s.

Sophomore transfer Alex Da Pron recorded a team-high 16 kills against the Anteaters, his former teammates. Junior opposite Kent Tuttle contributed 12 kills just one night after a head-on collision requiring staples.

UCI, who currently leads the country in blocking, out-blocked the Cougars 18.5 to 18. Redshirt freshman Futi Tanava led BYU with nine blocks on the night, while freshman Russell Lavaja added eight of his own.

With the Anteaters pulled ahead 13-8, going on a 4-0 run to start the first set. BYU broke the run after a timeout and kill by Da Pron. UCI extended its lead to seven points before the Cougars put together a little 5-0 run of their own. During that span BYU got a service ace from Reed Chilton and kills by Tuttle and Andrew Stewart. The Cougars found themselves within one point of a tie five times before a kill by Tuttle knotted the score 28-28. BYU errors sealed a 30-28 win for UCI.

Both teams kept the second set close, tying the score eight times in the early minutes. Da Pron and Lavaja combined for a block to give the Cougars a 17-15 lead. After the Anteaters tied it up at 18-18, BYU scored three-straight points, forcing UCI to call a timeout. The run continued as Chilton recorded a second ace and Tavana and Kevin Sager combined for a block. It took five set-point scenarios before a costly UCI service error secured a BYU set-win and tied the match.

The Anteaters maintained a steady lead to start the third set, but the Cougars clawed back into it with five-straight points, retaking the lead 14-13. Tied 20-20, Da Pron knocked down his ninth kill of the match, but UCI continued to fight, again gaining the advantage at 23-21. Despite out blocking the Anteaters 7.5 to 5.5, the Cougars eventually dropped the set 30-27.

“When you’re afraid to make an error, you usually do,” said Patchell. “We have to work on realizing that the hitter always has an advantage against the block.”

It was a critical fourth set as BYU tried to stay in the match. Junior opposite Mat Taylor, who came in to relieve Tuttle, recorded four kills to give his team an 11-7 lead. Several long rallies went UCI’s way before the Cougars finally secured one of their own to go up by five points. BYU led by as many as seven after a block by Lavaja and Stewart. The Anteaters tied it up 24-24 before going on to score consecutive points. Da Pron knocked down two kills, bringing BYU within one, but it wasn’t enough as UCI claimed the set and match.

The Cougars hit the road for the final two weeks of the regular season. They first travel to Stanford for two matches on April 10-11 and then close out conference play at Pepperdine on April 16-17.

Volleyball Box Score
                     Brigham Young Univ. Cougar VolleyBall
              UC Irvine vs BYU Cougars (Apr 03, 2009 at Provo, UT)
   UC Irvine              |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3  Ammerman, Ryan......  4|  0   1   2 -.500| 57|  1   4|  1|  3| 1  3  2|  1
7  DuFault, Jordan.....  4| 11   7  35  .114|  0|  0   5|  1| 13| 0  5  0|  0
9  Clark, Carson.......  4| 21  10  42  .262|  0|  1   2|  0|  8| 0  3  0|  0
12 D'Amore, Austin.....  4|  4   0  11  .364|  0|  0   4|  0|  0| 0  8  0|  0
15 Yoder, Cory.........  4| 10   3  30  .233|  1|  0   4|  1|  7| 0  5  0|  0
19 Wynne, Kevin........  4| 10   2  17  .471|  1|  1   2|  0|  0| 2  6  1|  0
1  Steller,Jon.........  2|  4   5  12 -.083|  0|  0   1|  0|  1| 0  1  0|  0
2  Wilson, Taylor......  1|  3   0   6  .500|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0
6  Spittle, Nick.......  4|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   2|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
8  Asuka, Brent........  4|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   0|  0| 10| 0  0  0|  0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Totals..............  4| 63  28 155  .226| 60|  3  24|  3| 43| 3 31  3|  1
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 18.5
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  20  8  36  .333   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  4  TEAM RECORDS
   2   9  6  34  .088   UC Irvine........... (3) 30 26 30 30  20-4, 15-3 MPSF
   3  15 10  36  .139   BYU Cougars......... (1) 28 30 27 27  15-10, 11-7 MPSF
   4  19  4  49  .306
   BYU Cougars            |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1  TUTTLE, Kent........  3| 12   8  30  .133|  0|  0   2|  0|  4| 0  2  2|  0
5  LAVAJA, Russell.....  4|  3   3  14  .000|  0|  1   2|  0|  4| 0  8  1|  0
14 PEREZ, Yamil........  4|  0   0   2  .000| 53|  0   4|  1|  6| 0  3  0|  0
15 STEWART, Andrew.....  4|  8   6  20  .100|  0|  0   0|  0|  5| 0  5  1|  0
17 TAVANA, Futi........  4|  5   0  15  .333|  0|  0   0|  0|  4| 0  9  2|  0
23 DA PRON, Alex.......  4| 16  12  43  .093|  0|  0   6|  2|  8| 0  3  0|  0
3  CHILTON, Reed.......  4|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  2   0|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0
4  SILVA, Joel.........  4|  0   0   0  .000|  2|  0   0|  0| 11| 0  0  0|  0
8  KAULIAKAMOA, Joe....  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
9  SOUZA, Otavio.......  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
10 TAYLOR, Mat.........  1|  9   3  16  .375|  0|  0   0|  0|  3| 0  2  0|  0
11 SAGERS, Kevin.......  2|  3   3   9  .000|  0|  0   1|  0|  5| 0  4  0|  0
18 HIAPO, BJ...........  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Totals..............  4| 56  35 149  .141| 55|  3  15|  3| 52| 0 36  6|  0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 18.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  11  7  32  .125   Site: Provo, UT (Smith Fieldhouse)
   2  14  9  38  .132   Date: Apr 03, 2009   Attend: 3878   Time: 2h 30m
   3  10  9  34  .029   Referees: Tom Given, Les Calles, Trent Mano
   4  21 10  45  .244

After splitting a pair of matches against UCLA, the No. 6 BYU men’s volleyball team (14-9, 10-6 MPSF) hosts first-ranked UC Irvine (19-3, 14-2 MPSF) at home in the Smith Fieldhouse for two matches on Thursday and Friday nights. Despite having no seniors on the team, this pair of home matches will mark the last of the Cougars’ 2009 regular season.

The Anteaters are the second No. 1 team BYU has faced this season, the first being then-No. 1 Cal State Northridge on March 5 & 6. UCI is the first top-ranked team to come to Provo since the Cougars hosted No. 1 Pepperdine on Feb. 4, 2006.

After dropping only its second home match of the season last Friday, BYU rebounded with a 3-1 win over UCLA Saturday night. Kevin Sagers, Mat Taylor and Andrew Stewart all recorded double-digit kills in the win.

UCI’s extended its winning streak to seven matches after sweeping No. 13 Hawaii on Friday. Carson Clark, a freshman opposite, pounded a match-high 20 kills, while Austin D’Amore, a freshman middle blocker, recorded a career-high 10 kills and hit .562 (10-1-16). The duo each added five block assists.

Series Information

The Cougars are 15-5 against the Anteaters since 2001, but only 4-5 against them since the 2006 season. BYU defeated UCI in three matchups in 2008, including two in Irvine, Calif. and one at the MPSF Tournament quarterfinals. After defeating the Anteaters, the Cougars eventually reached the championship match where they fell to Pepperdine in five sets.

BYU and UCI met earlier this season in the second round of the UC Santa Barbara Elephant Bar Tournament. Despite defeating the Anteaters in four games at the BYU Tournament in December, it was the Cougars who fell in four sets as UCI pulled ahead to win a close 30-27 fourth set and the match.

Match Coverage

Live stats can be accessed by visiting BYU’s men’s volleyball schedule page at www.byucougars.com. The live stats can be launched by clicking on the “Live Stats” link for the appropriate game on the schedule page.

Coming Off...A Win Against No. 10 UCLA

After dropping the first set the No. 5 Cougars stormed back to win the next three, defeating No. 10 UCLA 3-1 in the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday.

Overall, junior setter Yamil Perez had a match-high 57 assists while sophomore outside hitter Kevin Sagers led the Cougars with 16 kills. Two other Cougars, junior opposite Mat Taylor and junior outside hitter Andrew Stewart, had double-digit kills as well. The Bruins out-hit the Cougars .275 to .252, but were not able to convert at key points in the match.

Up Next

The Cougars hit the road for the final two weeks of the regular season. They first travel to Stanford for two matches on April 10 & 11. BYU then closes out conference play at Pepperdine on April 16 & 17.

Last Year Against UC Irvine

April 19, 2008

It took four sets for the No. 3 BYU men’s volleyball team (24-4, 18-4) to beat No. 8 UC Irvine (16-15, 11-11) in the Smith Fieldhouse as the Cougars advanced to the semifinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoffs with the 3-1 win (30-20, 30-22, 28-30, 30-28).

Senior All-MPSF First Team selection Ivan Perez recorded a match-high 19 kills on .406 hitting with a match-high 12 digs. The feat marked the ninth double-double for Perez this season. Joining Perez with 10 or more kills were sophomore Andrew Stewart (12), senior Jonathan Charette (11), and senior All-MPSF First Team honoree Russell Holmes (10).

The Cougars dominated the first set both offensively and defensively in a 30-20 win. BYU hit .517 as a team with Charette tallying five kills on eight swings to lead all attackers. The Cougars also racked up 4.5 total team blocks in the set, including a set-winning block solo from Holmes, an All-MPSF First Team selection. The Anteaters hit only .111 as a team in the set with 1.0 total team blocks.

The second set opened with a much closer battle than the first set ended, but BYU finished strong to take the set 30-22. UCI was down only two at 16-14, but would not get any closer. The Cougars continued to smoke the ball on offense and remain solid at the net with a .556 attack percentage and 4.0 total team blocks in the set. Perez, another All-MPSF honoree, led all attackers with six kills on six swings in the set.

The Anteaters won the fourth set 30-28 thanks to a 5-0 run at the end of the set. UCI led 12-11, and did not lead again until they were up 29-28. BYU led 28-25, but lost the next five points to drop the set. The Cougars hit .357 to UCI’s .250, had 2.0 blocks to UCI’s none, and 16 digs to UCI’s eight, but were still not able to close out the set.

The 30-28 fourth-set win was a far cry from BYU’s two previous set wins. Neither team was able to pull away during the set though both teams held the lead at various points in the set. The Anteaters last held the lead at 26-25 and were within a point down 29-28, but Perez’s 19th kill of the match sealed UCI’s fate and propelled the Cougars into the semifinals of the MPSF playoffs.