Cougars Split Matches at Mizuno Classic

PROVO -- The BYU women's volleyball team finished strong in defeating Wake Forest 24-30, 31-29, 19-30, 30-27, 15-10 after bowing to Oral Roberts 28-30, 27-30, 16-30, earlier in the day. With the split, BYU now stands at 2-4.

BYU will play No. 6 Florida to conclude the tournament Saturday at 7 p.m. on Family Night at the Smith Fieldhouse. Team posters will be available as well as a team autograph signing. Family admission to the match will be $10.

After winning the first game, the Demon Deacons had a stranglehold on the second game, but BYU turned the tide and seized the momentum to take the crucial second game.

"When things looked bleak the players decided to win that game," head coach Karen Lamb said. "It was the players who really came through in this match."

The third game was a game of opposites as Wake Forest (2-3) had its best hitting game of the match (.205) and BYU had its worst hitting game of the match (-.020).

BYU regained composure in the fourth game, and a block by Uila Crabbe and Carrie Bowers pushed the Cougar lead to 12-9 and forced Wake Forest into a timeout. The Cougars exchanged points with the Demon Deacons until April Varner put down a kill to seal the game. The Cougars leaned on Varner as she recorded half of her 16 kills in the last two games.

The Cougars lead throughout the decisive fifth game. A kill by Bowers extended the Cougar lead to 12-9 to force a Demon Deacon timeout. The Cougars came out and quickly ended the match as Karina Puikkonen and Bowers teamed up the stuff Sara Beth Delisle, before another Bowers kill clinched the match for the Cougars.

"We changed our line-up a bit," Lamb said. "We had Karina (Puikkonen) as a hitter and Uila (Crabbe) as the setter for a few plays. It didn't work that well to start with, but we're looking for combinations that will help this team."

Varner led the Cougars offensively with team-highs in kills (16) and attack percentage (.286), and she also contributed 17 digs for her third double-double of the year. Redshirt freshman Erin Webb saw the first significant action of her career and she provided a spark off the bench contributing 10 kills, six digs and eight blocks.

For the match, BYU and Wake Forest had matching attack percentages (.137), but the Cougars again dominated at the net against an opponent by oublocking the Demon Deacons 17.5-9. Puikkonen was a force with eight blocks, including two solo blocks.

Wake Forest was led with double-double efforts from Ashley Fisher who had 13 kills and 14 digs, and Valerie Rydberg who had 13 kills and 15 digs.

The Cougars dropped their first match of the day to Oral Roberts, 3-0, losing to the Golden Eagles for the first time after wins in 2000 and 1997. Improving to 3-1 on the year, Oral Roberts edged BYU in the first two games, 30-28, 30-27, before completing the sweep with a 30-16 win in game three.

BYU junior middle blocker Carrie Bowers had a match-high nine blocks while freshman middle Lexi Brown and junior setter Karina Puikkonen each contributed six blocks. Senior outside hitter Allison Larson put down a team-high nine kills while sophomore outside April Varner added seven kills but both hitters made eight hitting errors. Junior libero Uila Crabbe had 14 digs for the Cougars.

Rightside hitter Patricia Menezes led the Oral Roberts attack with 14 kills while outside hitter Lindsey Engel added 10. Libero Becky Dreher had a match-high 18 digs.

In the marquee night match No. 3 USC swept No. 6 Florida 30-24, 30-19, 30-26. The loss marks Florida's first of the season (3-1). Earlier in the day the Trojans defeated Wake Forest 30-14, 26-30, 30-20, 30-20 and their record remains perfect at 6-0.

Other matches scheduled for Saturday include Florida against Oral Roberts at Noon and Oral Roberts against Wake Forest at 5 p.m.

                              Volleyball Box Score
                            BYU Cougars 2002 Season
                 Wake Forest vs BY (Sep 06, 2002 at Provo, UT)
    Wake Forest            |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6  FISHER, Ashley......  5| 13   2  36  .306|  2|  1   0|  1| 14| 0  2  2|  0
 7  HAUFF, Jessica......  5| 11   1  21  .476|  0|  0   2|  0|  4| 0  3  0|  0
 8  PHILLIPS, Ashlee....  5|  8   2  19  .316| 50|  2   1|  0| 12| 0  2  0|  1
 11 RYDBERG, Valerie....  5| 13   9  43  .093|  2|  2   5|  0| 15| 0  1  1|  0
 12 DELISLE, Sara Beth..  5|  4  12  34 -.235|  4|  2   0|  1|  9| 1  1  1|  0
 13 STERN, Kim..........  5| 14  10  36  .111|  0|  3   4|  0|  2| 2  3  1|  1
 1  SCHULTE, Tawni......  5|  0   1   1-1.000|  1|  0   0|  0| 26| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  5| 63  37 190  .137| 59| 10  12|  2| 82| 3 12  5|  2
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 9.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  11  9  35  .057   GAME SCORES           1  2  3  4  5  TEAM RECORDS
   2  19 10  52  .173   Wake Forest......... 30 29 30 27 10  2-3, 0-0 ACC
   3  12  6  40  .150   BY.................. 24 31 19 30 15  2-4, 0-0 MWC
   4  16  7  44  .205
   5   5  5  19  .000
    BY                     |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 2  PUIKKONEN, Karina...  5|  4   2  17  .118| 45|  0   1|  1|  6| 2  6  0|  0
 3  VARNER, April.......  5| 16   6  35  .286|  2|  1   3|  4| 17| 1  0  1|  0
 8  BOWERS, Carrie......  5| 11   3  29  .276|  0|  0   3|  0|  7| 0  7  1|  0
 9  BROWN, Alexis.......  5|  8   5  30  .100|  0|  1   1|  0|  6| 0  5  1|  1
 12 CRABBE, Uila........  5|  1   2   4 -.250|  1|  0   2|  2|  7| 0  1  0|  0
 15 WILSON, Kimberly....  2|  1   4  13 -.231|  1|  0   2|  0|  5| 0  0  1|  0
 6  METCALF, Lindsey....  4|  0   0   4  .000|  1|  0   2|  0|  9| 0  0  0|  0
 7  LARSON, Allison.....  5| 10   5  31  .161|  1|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  2  0|  0
 10 WEBB, Erin..........  5| 10   6  32  .125|  1|  0   0|  0|  6| 0  8  0|  1
 17 MAHAFFEY, Michelle..  5|  0   1   2 -.500|  2|  0   0|  3| 15| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  5| 61  34 197  .137| 54|  2  14| 10| 79| 3 29  4|  2
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 17.5
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1   9  7  37  .054   Site: Provo, UT (Smith Fieldhouse)
   2  15  5  47  .213   Date: Sep 06, 2002   Attend: 219   Time: 2h 15m
   3  11 12  49 -.020   Referees: ANNETTE COTTLE, KIM NORMAN, KAREN MARSHAL
   4  18  9  47  .191
   5   8  1  17  .412
                              Volleyball Box Score
                            BYU Cougars 2002 Season
                 Oral Roberts vs BY (Sep 06, 2002 at Provo, UT)
    Oral Roberts           |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 7  MENEZES, Patricia...  3| 14   8  30  .200|  2|  2   1|  0|  9| 0  3  0|  0
 8  ENGEL, Lindsey......  3| 10   5  29  .172|  1|  0   0|  1|  6| 0  1  1|  1
 10 MORENO, Anna........  3|  5   0   7  .714| 38|  6   0|  0|  8| 0  2  0|  1
 11 PLACKO, Ivana.......  3|  7   3  16  .250|  0|  2   1|  0|  4| 0  1  1|  0
 13 SYKO, April.........  3|  4   6  21 -.095|  1|  0   1|  2| 14| 0  1  0|  0
 16 JONES, Celeste......  3|  6   4  22  .091|  1|  0   1|  1|  2| 0  6  0|  0
 2  MEYERSON, Keri......  2|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   1|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0
 6  DREHER, Becky.......  3|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   0|  0| 18| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  3| 46  26 125  .160| 44| 10   5|  4| 62| 0 14  2|  2
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 7.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  14  7  44  .159   GAME SCORES           1  2  3  TEAM RECORDS
   2  17 12  46  .109   Oral Roberts........ 30 30 30  3-1, 0-0 MID-CON
   3  15  7  35  .229   BY.................. 28 27 16  1-4, 0-0 MWC
    BY                     |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 2  PUIKKONEN, Karina...  3|  4   1  12  .250| 29|  2   0|  0|  3| 0  6  0|  1
 3  VARNER, April.......  3|  7   8  40 -.025|  2|  0   0|  0|  8| 0  3  0|  0
 6  METCALF, Lindsey....  3|  0   3   7 -.429|  0|  0   0|  4|  9| 0  2  0|  0
 7  LARSON, Allison.....  3|  9   8  26  .038|  0|  1   3|  2|  0| 0  0  1|  0
 8  BOWERS, Carrie......  3|  5   2  14  .214|  0|  0   0|  0|  3| 0  9  0|  0
 9  BROWN, Alexis.......  3|  5   1  16  .250|  0|  1   1|  0|  2| 0  6  0|  0
 10 WEBB, Erin..........  2|  1   0   2  .500|  0|  0   1|  0|  1| 0  2  0|  0
 12 CRABBE, Uila........  3|  0   0   0  .000|  2|  0   0|  2| 14| 0  0  0|  0
 15 WILSON, Kimberly....  3|  3   4  12 -.083|  0|  0   0|  1|  1| 0  3  0|  0
 17 MAHAFFEY, Michelle..  3|  0   0   2  .000|  0|  0   0|  1|  5| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  3| 34  27 131  .053| 33|  4   5| 10| 46| 0 31  1|  1
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 15.5
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  15  9  47  .128   Site: Provo, UT (Smith Fieldhouse)
   2  13  8  50  .100   Date: Sep 06, 2002   Attend: 254   Time: 1h 25m
   3   6 10  34 -.118   Referees: MAILE JEWKES, ANNETTE COTTLE, NINA PUIKKONEN

The Cougars open their home schedule Thursday through Saturday with the annual BYU Mizuno Classic, which features two of the top-six teams in the nation. BYU will play host to No. 3 USC, No. 6 Florida, Oral Roberts and Wake Forest. All matches will be held in the Smith Fieldhouse.

All four teams traveling to the Mizuno Classic hold winning records, including USC and Florida with perfect 3-0 records.

BYU will welcome No. 3 USC Thursday at 7 p.m in a match that will be televised on KBYU, channel 11 in Utah, and on BYU Television, a satalitte and cable channel. The Trojans are fresh off an effort in which they claimed the Radisson Hotel Roberts/Nike Classic tournament title by sweeping No. 2 Nebraska on Monday. BYU currently stands 6-9 all-time against the Trojans. The last meeting between the two teams was a Trojan sweep in the 1994 BYU Mizuno Classic (9/16).

On Friday the Cougars will host Oral Roberts at Noon and Wake Forest at 4 p.m. Oral Roberts started the year 2-0 with wins over Dayton and Baylor at the Long Beach State Mizuno Invitational, but fell to the fifth-ranked host team. The Cougars have met the Golden Eagles twice (1997 and 2000). Both matches were in the BYU Mizuno Classic, and the Cougars swept both matches. Wake Forest enters the Mizuno Classic with a 2-1 record on the season. This is the first-ever meeting between BYU and Wake Forest.

The Cougars finish the tournament with a Saturday match-up against No. 6 Florida at 7 p.m. The Gators have won nine consecutive games to open the season in defeating UAB, Rhode Island and No. 21 Illinois. The two teams last met December 10, 1999, when the Gators bounced the Cougars, 3-0, from the NCAA Tournament in the Mountain Regional. BYU is 3-3 all-time against Florida.

After winning its season opener against Gonzaga at the Les Schwab Cougar Classic, BYU dropped a close match to Nevada and was swept by host Washington State last week. The play of senior Allison Larson and freshman Lexi Brown shone at the tournament as each was named to the all-tournament team.

Offensively, the Cougars are led by Larson and April Varner, who are averaging 3.25 and 2.75 kills per game, respectively. BYU is being outhit .143 to .158 and has yet to establish a consistent basis for attack.

Despite the Cougars' offensive maladies, their defense has been staunch. BYU's middle blocking tandem of Carrie Bowers and Lexi Brown average 1.92 and 1.67 blocks per game, respectively. As a team the Cougars are outblocking opponents 45.5-20 this season. Mountain West Conference Co-Defensive Specialist of the Year Uila Crabbe leads the Cougars this year with 4.25 digs per game. Lindsey Metcalf and April Varner are both averaging 3.08 dpg.

On Friday, other matches will feature Wake Forest vs. USC at 10 a.m. and Florida vs. USC at 7 p.m. Saturday matches will pit Florida vs. Oral Roberts at Noon and Oral Roberts vs. Wake Forest at 5 p.m.

TICKET INFORMATION

This season admission to matches will be $5 for the public and $4 for senior citizens, youth, faculty and students. All Sport Cards will be honored for all regularly scheduled women's volleyball matches. In addition, this year families will be able to attend matches for $10, while wards and groups will be $20. Saturday night's match against Florida is Family Night, and free posters will be available as well as a team autograph signing.

BYU Mizuno Classic
Smith Fieldhouse (5,000)
Provo, Utah
Thursday, Sept. 5
BYU (1-2) vs. No. 3 USC (3-0) - 7 p.m. - (kbyu-tv/byutv/byu radio)
Friday, Sept. 6
Wake Forest (2-1) vs. USC - 10 a.m.
BYU vs. Oral Roberts (2-1) - Noon
BYU vs. Wake Forest - 4 p.m.
No. 6 Florida (3-0) vs. No. 3 USC - 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 7
Florida vs. Oral Roberts - Noon
Oral Roberts vs. Wake Forest - 5 p.m.
BYU vs. No. 6 Florida - 7 p.m. - (byu radio)