COLUMBUS -- Holding off a stubborn Duke Blue Devil team, BYU improved to 6-0 on the year with a five-game opening-round victory at the 2005 Buckeye Classic being played in Columbus, Ohio.

The Cougars started quickly and were able to withstand a strong Blue Devil rally to earn the win by scores of 30-24, 30-24, 19-30, 24-30, 15-10. Duke falls to 5-2 on the year with the loss.

"Duke is a team very much like a lot of the teams in our conference (Mountain West)," BYU coach Jason Watson said. "They pressured us enormously and we lost our composure for a while, but I'm proud of the way we rallied in the fifth game to pull off a very nice win."

After hitting less than .100 during setbacks in games three and four, BYU hit a match-high .316 in the decisive 15-point fifth game. The Cougars took the lead and never trailed, earning a 14-9 match-point opportunity before sealing the victory by a 15-10 tally.

Watson credited the play of sophomore Lindsey Evans, who got the start at libero, as a key reason for the Cougar victory.

"Lindsey (Evans) kept us in it and kept us composed late in the match," Watson said. "She was solid all night long."

The MWC record-holder for digs in a match, Evans continually kept Blue Devil attacks from hitting the floor, recording a season-high 27 digs. Evans set the MWC record for digs last season with 33 at UNLV. Setter Lauren Evans (12 digs), outside hitter Chelsea Goodman (10 digs) and defensive specialist Janvier Beaumont (10 digs) helped Evans keep the ball in play for BYU, allowing Lauren Evans to toss up 60 assists to five different Cougar hitters.

Despite 34 hitting errors, BYU outpaced Duke 70 kills to 56 and outhit the Blue Devils .194 to .170. The Cougar middle attack was the most effective as junior Lindsy Hartsock had 12 kills with a .310 hitting percentage, and freshman Rachel Dyer hit a team-best .318 with 11 kills. Although less efficient with 11 hitting errors apiece, sophomore outside hitters Erica Lott and Goodman put down 22 and 19 kills, respectively. Lott's 22 kills set a career single-match high, while Goodman was one off her person best of 20 set in BYU's last outing on Saturday against Utah State.

Lauren Evans posted her team-leading third double-double of the season while Goodman achieved her second such performance. Lott, meanwhile, was one dig shy of her third double-double of the year. Lexi Patterson started on the right side for BYU, recording four kills and two blocks.

Duke's middle presented problems for the Cougars as sophomore Carrie DeMange had 22 kills and a .311 hitting percentage while senior Sam Fisher added 11 kills at a .333 clip.

"We only had 5 1/2 blocks in five games," Watson said. "That is an area we need to improve on when we play against either Ohio State or Pittsburgh (Saturday)."

The Cougars will face tournament host Ohio State on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. The 14th-ranked Buckeyes defeated Pittsburgh, 3-1, during Friday's second match to improve to 7-1 on the season.

                              Volleyball Box Score
                            The Automated ScoreBook
          Brigham Young Univ. vs Duke (Sep 16, 2005 at Columbus, Ohio)
    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|POINTS
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1  GOODMAN, Chelsea....  5| 19  11  48  .167|  1|  1   1|  0| 10| 0  1  0|  0|  20.5
 5  EVANS, Lauren.......  5|  2   3   7 -.143| 60|  2   4|  0| 12| 0  2  0|  0|   5.0
 9  PATTERSON, Lexi.....  5|  4   2  19  .105|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  2  0|  0|   5.0
 10 LOTT, Erica.........  5| 22  11  61  .180|  0|  0   3|  2|  9| 0  1  0|  0|  22.5
 14 HARTSOCK, Lindsy....  5| 12   3  29  .310|  0|  0   2|  0|  3| 0  2  0|  0|  13.0
 44 DYER, Rachel........  5| 11   4  22  .318|  0|  0   4|  0|  1| 0  3  0|  0|  12.5
 2  BEAUMONT, Janvier...  5|  0   0   0  .000|  2|  0   3|  0| 10| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 3  EVANS, Lindsey......  5|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  1| 27| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 11 KEMP, Annie.........  2|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  1|  3| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
    TEAM................   |                 |   |       |  1|   |        |   |   0.0
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  5| 70  34 186  .194| 63|  3  17|  5| 75| 0 11  0|  0|  78.5
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 5.5
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  19  7  45  .267   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  4  5  TEAM RECORDS
   2  18  8  36  .278   Brigham Young Univ.. (3) 30 30 19 24 15  6-0
   3  12  8  44  .091   Duke................ (2) 24 24 30 30 10  5-2
   4  12  8  43  .093
   5   9  3  19  .316
    Duke                   |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1  Ali Hausfeld........  5|  3   0   7  .429| 44|  1   1|  0|  7| 0  3  0|  0|   5.5
 7  Sam Fisher..........  5| 11   2  27  .333|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 1  2  0|  0|  13.0
 8  Sarah Salem.........  5|  2   5  12 -.250|  0|  2   4|  0|  9| 0  0  0|  0|   4.0
 9  Tealle Hunkus.......  5|  6   2  27  .148|  3|  0   1|  2| 12| 0  0  0|  0|   6.0
 12 Jourdan Norman......  2|  0   1   6 -.167|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 1  0  0|  0|   1.0
 15 Carrie DeMange......  5| 22   8  45  .311|  0|  0   1|  1| 14| 0  5  0|  0|  24.5
 2  Polly Bendush.......  4|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   1|  0|  3| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 4  Pixie Levanas.......  4|  7   3  20  .200|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0|   7.0
 6  Jenny Shull.........  5|  2   0   9  .222|  1|  2   1|  0| 23| 0  0  0|  1|   4.0
 10 Tiffany Perry.......  3|  1   1  13  .000|  1|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  1|   1.0
 11 Sue Carls...........  2|  1   0   3  .333|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0|   1.0
 13 Aana Wherry.........  2|  1   4   7 -.429|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   1.0
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  5| 56  26 176  .170| 50|  5   9|  3| 70| 2 10  0|  2|  68.0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 7.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  13  8  48  .104   Site: Columbus, Ohio (St. John Arena)
   2   8  5  31  .097   Date: Sep 16, 2005   Attend:     Time: 2:21
   3  14  4  41  .244   Referees: Brian Hemelgarn, Denis Bergstedt, Chandler, Tully
   4  17  6  40  .275
   5   4  3  16  .062

PROVO -- BYU will face its toughest test of the 2005 season when the Cougars compete in the Buckeye Classic tournament this weekend, taking on Duke Friday night before facing off against Pittsburgh or No. 14 Ohio State on Saturday. With a 5-0 record and No. 27 national listing, the Cougars are anxious to prove that they belong in the top 25.

"This is another challenging week," said BYU head coach Jason Watson. "Not only do we go on the road, but we are competing against a very talented tournament field. It's a great opportunity for us to compete outside our region. I'm excited to see how we do"

The Cougars are coming off of an exciting but emotional week as they notched two more victories to remain perfect in 2005. After a sweep of Idaho State last Wednesday, BYU took on instate rival Utah State, dropping game one before earning the come-from-behind win. Sophomore outside hitter Chelsea Goodman earned Mountain West Conference Player of the Week honors after averaging 5.14 kills per game for the week, including a career-high 20 against the Aggies.

In order to continue its run through the collegiate volleyball ranks, BYU will first have to get past the 5-1 Blue Devils, who are riding a four-match winning streak. Middle blocker Carrie Demange is currently averaging 4.50 kills per game while outside hitter Tealle Hunkus has picked up 4.14 digs per game this year.

If the Cougars prevail, they will face the winner of Ohio State/Pittsburgh for the tournament title. Tournament-host Ohio State is currently 6-1 and ranked No. 14 nationally with its only loss coming against No. 1 Nebraska. The Panthers are 7-4 on the year, including a 2-2 neutral court record.