LONG BEACH -- In the first match of the Active Ankle Classic, the No. 4 BYU volleyball team defeated No. 9 Penn State Friday at Walter Pyramid. The Cougars’ 3-1 (30-26, 33-31, 25-30, 30-24) victory improved their record to 11-7 on the season.

Penn State opened scoring in the first set but BYU answered quickly. The two teams traded points until a three-point run put the Cougars ahead 21-16. The Nittany Lions rallied to bring it back within two, but a service error eventually gave BYU the first set at 30-26.

The second set began the same way as the first, and Penn State held onto the lead until a Robb Stowell kill put the Cougars ahead at 11-10. The Nittany Lions got back on top with a kill by Max Lipsitz and BYU fought off two match points before taking the set 33-31.

In the third set, the Cougars were the first to strike with a Kevin Sagers kill. Penn State came back with a four-point run but BYU kept it close, pulling within one midway through the set. Another crucial four-point run came at the end of play. The Nittany Lions were one point from victory and Joe Sunder finished things off with a kill. Sunder and Will Price led Penn State, with 21 kills each on the night.

Like much of the match, back and forth play characterized the fourth set. This time it was BYU’s turn to have a key three-point run near the end. A three-man block by Reed Chilton, Rusty Lavaja and Jeff Robinson finished the match at 30-24. Defense played a big role in the Cougar win. BYU recorded three times as many blocks as Penn State, 18-6. Offensively, Stowell and Stewart led the Cougars with 23 and 20 kills, respectively.

BYU will continue tournament play Saturday against St. Francis (PA) at 5 p.m. PT. The match will be played at Walter Pyramid.

                              Volleyball Box Score
          #9 PENN STATE vs #4 BYU (Mar 12, 2010 at Long Beach, Calif.)
   PENN STATE             |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
## Name                 SP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
7  Goas, Edgardo.......  4|  0   1   2 -.500| 68|  1   2|  0| 11| 0  1  0|  0
9  Lipsitz, Max........  4| 20   5  36  .417|  0|  0   1|  0|  3| 0  1  1|  0
10 Turko, Nick.........  4|  6   2  14  .286|  1|  0   2|  0|  0| 1  3  1|  1
11 Price, Will.........  4| 21   8  53  .245|  0|  0   4|  0| 13| 1  1  0|  0
14 Wolf, Ryan..........  2|  0   2   6 -.333|  0|  0   2|  0|  4| 0  0  0|  0
17 Sunder, Joe.........  4| 21   3  46  .391|  0|  0   5|  0|  5| 0  2  1|  0
4  Pereira, Thomas.....  4|  6   5  20  .050|  0|  2   2|  0|  7| 0  0  0|  0
6  Del Valle, Dennis...  4|  0   0   0  .000|  4|  0   0|  1| 16| 0  0  0|  0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Totals..............  4| 74  26 177  .271| 73|  3  18|  1| 59| 2  8  3|  1
 TEAM ATTACK PER SET                                TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 6.0
 Set   K  E  TA   Pct
   1  18  8  56  .179   SET SCORES                1  2  3  4  TEAM RECORDS
   2  20  8  49  .245   PENN STATE.......... (1) 26 31 30 24  14-3
   3  21  4  38  .447   BYU................. (3) 30 33 25 30  11-7
   4  15  6  34  .265
   BYU                    |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
## Name                 SP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3  CHILTON, Reed.......  4|  1   1   3  .000| 61|  0   1|  0|  7| 0  7  1|  0
4  SILVA, Joel.........  4|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   0|  1| 12| 0  0  0|  0
5  LAVAJA, Russell.....  4|  9   4  20  .250|  1|  1   3|  0|  6| 1  6  1|  0
9  SOUZA, Otavio.......  4|  8   2  19  .316|  1|  0   0|  0|  2| 1  7  1|  0
11 SAGERS, Kevin.......  3|  6   4  20  .100|  1|  0   3|  0|  4| 0  2  0|  0
15 STEWART, Andrew.....  4| 20   4  41  .390|  1|  0   0|  2| 16| 0  3  0|  0
1  TUTTLE, Kent........  2|  0   1   5 -.200|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  1  0|  0
7  ROBINSON, Jeff......  4|  4   1   8  .375|  0|  0   0|  0|  6| 0  3  0|  0
10 TAYLOR, Mat.........  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
13 STOWELL, Robb.......  4| 23   4  46  .413|  0|  0   4|  0|  4| 0  3  0|  0
14 PEREZ, Yamil........  4|  0   0   0  .000|  3|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  1|  0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Totals..............  4| 71  21 162  .309| 69|  1  11|  3| 57| 2 32  4|  0
 TEAM ATTACK PER SET                                TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 18.0
 Set   K  E  TA   Pct
   1  14  5  48  .188   Site: Long Beach, Calif. (Walter Pyramid)
   2  20  7  43  .302   Date: Mar 12, 2010   Attend:     Time: 2:12
   3  19  5  41  .341   Referees: Kim Pickering, Ron Stahl
   4  18  4  30  .467   Triple blocks: BYU 4
                        Active Ankle Classic Match #1

Match Outlook

The No. 4 BYU men’s volleyball team (10-7, 8-6 MPSF) hits the road again as it participates in the Long Beach State Active Ankle Tournament on Friday and Saturday nights. The tournament consists of four teams, including the Cougars, No. 6 LBSU, No. 9 Penn State and St. Francis (PA).

BYU will take on the Nittany Lions (13-2, 6-0 EIVA) on Friday at 5 p.m. PT, while facing the Red Flash (8-7, 1-3 EIVA) Saturday also at 5 p.m. PT. All matches will be played at the Walter Pyramid.

Penn State is currently riding a nine-match win streak, with its most recent victory coming against George Mason on March 6. The Nittany Lions are led by senior opposite Will Price who averages 4.37 kills per set. Senior middle blocker Max Lipsitz leads his team with 87 blocks on the season.

St. Francis is coming off a five-set loss at Princeton on Feb. 27 and will take on LBSU at the tournament on Friday before facing BYU. Jordan Varee is averaging 4.79 kills per set for the Red Flash this season, while Pete Freyer has a team-high 64 blocks.

Series Info

BYU and Penn State have played 13 previous matches, with the Cougars gaining the 7-6 advantage in the series after recording a 3-1 upset win at the Active Ankle Tournament in 2009. BYU has won seven of the last nine matches after dropping the first four the two teams played. Eight of the 13 matchups between the Cougars and the Nittany Lions have been on neutral floors, with BYU holding a 6-2 advantage at those sites.

Saturday will mark the first meeting between BYU and St. Francis.

Coming Off...

BYU is coming off a weekend split, hosting No. 1 Pepperdine. The Cougars handed the top-ranked Waves a 3-1 loss on Friday, will Robb Stowell leading the charge with 22 kills. Andrew Stewart earned his seventh double-double of the season with 15 kills and 12 digs. Russell Lavaja recorded a career-high .714 hitting percentage with 11 kills and only one error.

Saturday was Pepperdine’s turn to be victorious as it delivered a sweep over BYU. Despite strong play from Kent Tuttle and Stewart, the Cougars could never quite catch up to the Waves, falling in three sets.