Seniors, Goodman lead Cougars over Wyoming

PROVO -- Sophomore outside hitter Chelsea Goodman put down a career-high 22 kills to power BYU to a three-game sweep over Wyoming Saturday in the Marriott Center. The Cougars hit .351 to overcome the Cowgirls, 30-24, 32-30 and 30-24.

With the win, BYU improves to 21-2 on the year and gets back in the winning column after starting the year with 20 consecutive wins. The victory, coupled with Utah's four-game loss to Colorado State Saturday, guarantees the Cougars at least a share of the Mountain West Conference title with a 12-2 record entering the final week of the regular season.

"This was a very emotional night. I'm really impressed that we were able to stay composed for a large portion of the match," BYU coach Jason Watson said. "A win like this helps us get back to the confidence level we want after our two losses. This was also an important night because our seniors have been a significant part of our success this year."

BYU's two seniors both had significant performances in their final regular-season match in front of the Cougar fans. Rightside hitter Lexi Brown Patterson had a season-high 10 kills while hitting .556, her third highest percentage of the season. Setter Lauren Richards Evans tossed up 50 assists and had 12 digs to record her seventh double-double of the year.

Goodman also had a double-double with 12 digs complementing her match-high 22 kills. Sophomore outside hitter Erica Lott added 12 kills, and sophomore libero Lindsey Evans recorded a match-best 17 digs.

The Cougars trailed early in game one but they soon gained the momentum and never trailed after breaking a 5-5 tie with a Goodman service ace. Wyoming got within one again at 12-11 but BYU ran off four straight points and were never seriously threatened the rest of the way. Goodman led the Cougars with eight kills in the game as BYU earned the 30-24 victory.

Goodman and Lott provided the offensive firepower for BYU in the second game. Eighteen of BYU's 26 kills during the game came from their left-side attack as Goodman recorded 11 kills while Lott added seven.

The second game was tied on seven different occasions and had four lead changes, the last of which came when BYU scored the final three points for the come-from-behind win. Wyoming had game point at 29-26 but the Cougars managed to stay alive with Goodman and Richards Evans putting down kills before Lindsy Hartsock's service ace evened the game at 29. Wyoming again set up a game-point opportunity with a kill to lead 30-29 before Goodman recorded back-to-back kills and Dyer put down the game winner to rally the Cougars.

Goodman's kill to give the Cougars a 17-14 lead in the third game tied her previous career-best performance of 21 kills in BYU's win at nationally ranked Ohio State. Saturday's effort was easily her most dominating of the season, however, as she pounded out her kills in just three games compared to five games at Ohio State. Her final kill of the match was part of a four-point run that propelled BYU from a 21-19 lead to a six-point advantage that proved to be the final margin in the 30-24 triumph.

Rachel Smith's 19 kills led Wyoming. She was the only Wyoming player to record double-figure kills. The Cowgirls, now 9-15 on the season and 4-9 in MWC play, hit .231 for the match.

BYU travels to San Diego State and UNLV for matches Friday and Saturday to close out the regular season. The Cougars will then return to Las Vegas for the MWC Tournament, Nov. 24-26.

                              Volleyball Box Score
                                  BYU COUGARS
   Wyoming Cowgirls vs #16 Brigham Young Univ. (Nov 12, 2005 at BYU PROVO UT)
    Wyoming Cowgirls       |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5  SEELE, Andrea.......  3|  9   2  16  .438|  1|  0   0|  0|  1| 1  0  0|  0|  10.0
 7  SMITH, Rachel.......  3| 19   2  46  .370|  0|  0   1|  2| 12| 0  0  0|  0|  19.0
 9  WEISHAHN, Tasha.....  3|  1   0   5  .200| 42|  1   3|  0|  8| 0  1  1|  0|   2.5
 11 LEE, Carissa........  3|  0   0   1  .000|  0|  1   0|  0|  5| 0  0  0|  0|   1.0
 15 SCOTT, Lauren.......  3|  4   4  13  .000|  1|  0   0|  0|  2| 0  1  0|  0|   4.5
 16 ELEY, Samantha......  3|  0   0   1  .000|  0|  1   1|  1|  7| 0  0  0|  0|   1.0
 1  LOOP, Kelsey........  3|  5   4  24  .042|  0|  0   0|  0|  2| 0  0  0|  0|   5.0
 2  WEYDERT, Michelle...  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  2   1|  2| 13| 0  0  0|  0|   2.0
 4  VEENKER, Emily......  1|  0   1   1-1.000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 6  CARLSON, Jessie.....  2|  1   0   3  .333|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  2  0|  0|   2.0
 10 HELLBAUM, Angie.....  3|  8   1  33  .212|  0|  0   0|  0|  2| 0  2  0|  0|   9.0
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  3| 47  14 143  .231| 44|  5   6|  5| 52| 1  6  1|  0|  56.0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 4.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  14  6  40  .200   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  TEAM RECORDS
   2  21  3  55  .327   Wyoming Cowgirls.... (0) 24 30 24  9-15;  4-9; MWC
   3  12  5  48  .146   Brigham Young Univ.. (3) 30 32 30  21-2; 12-2; MWC
    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....  3| 22   6  56  .286|  1|  1   3|  2| 10| 0  0  0|  0|  23.0
 5  EVANS, Lauren.......  3|  5   1  10  .400| 50|  0   3|  0| 12| 1  3  1|  2|   7.5
 9  PATTERSON, Lexi.....  3| 10   0  18  .556|  0|  0   0|  0|  2| 1  0  0|  0|  11.0
 11 KEMP, Annie.........  3|  0   0   0  .000|  2|  0   0|  1|  7| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 14 HARTSOCK, Lindsy....  3|  8   0  16  .500|  3|  2   1|  0|  2| 0  2  0|  0|  11.0
 44 DYER, Rachel........  3|  9   2  20  .350|  3|  1   3|  0|  4| 0  3  0|  0|  11.5
 2  BEAUMONT, Janvier...  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  1   0|  1|  6| 0  0  0|  0|   1.0
 3  EVANS, Lindsey......  3|  0   0   0  .000|  2|  0   0|  1| 16| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 10 LOTT, Erica.........  3| 12   5  28  .250|  1|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  2  0|  0|  13.0
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  3| 66  14 148  .351| 62|  5  10|  5| 59| 2 10  1|  2|  78.0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 7.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  20  5  42  .357   Site: BYU PROVO UT (MARRIOTT CENTER)
   2  26  5  59  .356   Date: Nov 12, 2005   Attend: 1420   Time: 1H 40M
   3  20  4  47  .340   Referees: TANA MARTIN, DAPHNE NELSON, KAREN MARSHALL
                                         1   2   3 Total
                        Tie scores       4   7   2    13
                        Lead changes     2   3   1     6

PROVO -- In what has been dubbed the "Flood Special," No. 16 BYU women's volleyball will play both of its final two regular-season home matches at the Marriott Center this weekend due to flooding in the Smith Fieldhouse. The 20-1 Cougars will take on Colorado State Friday night at 7:30 before facing Wyoming Saturday at 7 p.m.

"This is an important and challenging weekend for our volleyball program," said BYU head coach Jason Watson. "Of course, the challenge will be playing against two very well coached teams in an unfamiliar environment. I'm grateful to both Coach Rose and Coach Judkins for allowing us to compete in the Marriott Center this weekend."

Just two wins away from securing the regular-season Mountain West Conference title, the Cougars will honor their two seniors, Lauren Richards Evans and Lexi Brown Patterson, on Saturday. Admission to each of the contests will be just $1 for the public and free to All-Sport Card holders.

"While playing in the Marriott Center is a special event, Saturday is senior night and an opportunity for us to recognize the significant contributions of both Lauren Evans and Lexi Patterson," Watson said. "They are great examples of the quality of student-athletes at Brigham Young University."

The Cougar volleyball team has played several matches in the Marriott Center during its 36-year recorded history, including one entire season while the Smith Fieldhouse was renovated. BYU set a women's volleyball attendance record in the Marriott Center on Oct. 4, 1986, against Nebraska with 3,975 fans.

At 14-7 overall and 7-4 in the MWC, the CSU Rams are currently in fourth place in the league and lead the conference in both kills and assists. Wyoming sits in seventh place in the MWC with a 9-13 overall mark and 4-7 conference record. BYU leads the all-time series with both teams, owning a 45-18-1 advantage over the Rams and a 56-4 lead over the Cowgirls. The Cougars swept both teams earlier this season, including their first three-game win in Fort Collins since 1988.

BYU suffered its first loss of the season Friday night with a three-game loss at Utah. The Cougars were led by Chelsea Goodman, who had 17 kills, and Lindsy Hartsock who tallied six blocks. The loss dropped the Cougars to 20-1 overall and 11-1 in the MWC.

Fans of BYU can catch all the action of this weekend's matches in several ways. Friday's volleyball contest can be seen on BYUTV and KBYU in addition to being aired on BYU Radio. Live stats for both matches can be found by going to the schedule page of the BYU women's volleyball homepage at http://www.byucougars.com/volleyball_w/.