LAS -- BYU moved one step closer to the Mountain West Conference Tournament title Friday night with a tough five-game win over host UNLV. The semifinal victory set up a title-match showdown between top-seeded BYU and third-seeded Utah, who advanced with a sweep of Colorado State in the day's earlier match.

The No. 21 Cougars will face the Utes on Saturday night at 8 p.m. PST to determine the MWC Tournament champion and recipient of an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The match can be seen live on CSTV. BYU defeated Utah for the first time in 10 matches in September but then saw its perfect 20-0 record blemished at Utah in November. BYU is 1-2 all-time in the MWC championship match, winning the title in 2000, and 1-3 all-time in MWC Tournament play against the Utes.

"This was a very nice win for us that showed our ability to persevere and overcome difficulties," said BYU head coach Jason Watson. "I was pleased with the way we stayed composed and came together in game five. We feel we are prepared and ready to face a very good Utah team tomorrow in what will be a great match both for us and for the fans."

All-MWC outside hitter Chelsea Goodman recorded her 13th double-double of the year with 18 kills and 27 digs. Redshirt freshman Rachel Dyer led BYU with a career-high 17 kills while All-MWC outside hitter Erica Lott contributed 15 kills and a career-high-tying 13 digs in her seventh double-double of the season. MWC Player of the Year Lindsy Hartsock rounded out BYU's offensive effort with 13 kills on .478 hitting while putting up 8 blocks.

BYU began the match with a balanced approach, scoring the first five points of the game on kills from Goodman, Dyer and Lauren Richards Evans in addition to a service ace from Janvier Beaumont and a huge block from Goodman and Dyer. The Cougars continued to dominate from there, building a 15-3 lead thanks to a solid defensive effort that kept the Rebels out of their offense and hitting negative. UNLV battled back to cut the lead to seven at 26-19 but would come no closer as BYU took the game 30-21.

The two teams battled it out to begin game two, grinding to a 5-5 tie. A Richards Evans dump on the next point followed by a Rebel ball-handling error gave BYU a two-point advantage, which they slowly built up to a seven-point lead at 24-17. Three straight points gave UNLV comeback hopes, but the Cougars responded with a 6-3 spurt to close out game two and earn the 30-23 win. The passion and determination of both teams was evident throughout the game as several long rallies produced diving saves and spectacular plays.

UNLV got out to an early 3-2 lead in game three, their first advantage of the match. After finding themselves down 8-5, the Cougars responded with a 6-0 run sparked by a kill through the seam from Hartsock. UNLV refused to go down without a fight however, putting together a 5-1 spurt of its own to regain the lead at 13-12. A see-saw battle ensued from there, with neither team able to take control and pull away. Clinging to a slim 20-19 lead, UNLV managed to capitalize on BYU miscues and build a larger 25-21 advantage, which the Rebels would hold onto for the 30-24 game-three win.

With their backs against the wall again in game four, the Rebels came out swinging, pounding kills all over the court to jump out to an 8-4 lead. The Cougars tied the match at 12-12 but allowed UNLV to put together a 6-1 run to take a commanding 18-13 lead. Despite several long rallies and close calls, BYU could not get within two points of the Rebels, falling 30-24 and setting up a game-five showdown.

BYU came out poised and ready to play in game five, owning a 5-1 season record in five-game matches and winning by an average margin of 15-11 in the decisive fifth game throughout the season. Sure enough, the Cougars started hot, scoring four of the game's first five points. The Rebels came back to tie the match at 5-5 as both teams battled for every ball and every point. A 4-1 run gave UNLV an 11-9 advantage.

After once again trading points, the Rebels earned match-point at 14-12 but could not put the Cougars away. Three points later, thanks to a huge block, a UNLV hitting error and a powerful kill down the middle from Chelsea Goodman, BYU ha d its own match-point at 15-14. With the Cougar faithful going wild in the background, the Rebel offense misfired to give BYU the victory.

                              Volleyball Box Score
                                  BYU COUGARS
       #21 Brigham Young Univ. vs UNLV Rebels (Nov 25, 2005 at Las Vegas)
    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| 18   7  56  .196|  1|  0   4|  2| 27| 0  4  0|  0|  20.0
 5  EVANS, Lauren.......  5|  4   2   7  .286| 58|  1   0|  0|  9| 0  3  0|  4|   6.5
 9  PATTERSON, Lexi.....  5|  7   2  16  .312|  0|  0   0|  0|  4| 0  2  1|  0|   8.0
 10 LOTT, Erica.........  5| 15   9  58  .103|  1|  1   2|  2| 13| 0  1  0|  0|  16.5
 14 HARTSOCK, Lindsy....  5| 13   2  23  .478|  1|  1   1|  0|  1| 1  7  0|  0|  18.5
 44 DYER, Rachel........  5| 17   7  38  .263|  0|  0   2|  0|  4| 1  3  0|  0|  19.5
 2  BEAUMONT, Janvier...  5|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  1   0|  1|  7| 0  0  0|  1|   1.0
 3  EVANS, Lindsey......  5|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   0|  0| 17| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 11 KEMP, Annie.........  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  5| 74  29 198  .227| 63|  4   9|  5| 83| 2 20  1|  5|  90.0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 12.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  15  5  37  .270   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  4  5  TEAM RECORDS
   2  18  4  50  .280   Brigham Young Univ.. (3) 30 30 24 24 16  25-2
   3  14  8  38  .158   UNLV Rebels......... (2) 22 23 30 30 14  15-15
   4  17  5  37  .324
   5  10  7  36  .083
    UNLV Rebels            |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  NUA, Melody.........  5|  4   3  17  .059| 52|  2   0|  0| 13| 0  4  0|  1|   8.0
 4  CUNNINGHAM, Camille.  5|  1   0   3  .333|  0|  0   1|  0| 14| 0  0  0|  0|   1.0
 8  BANKS, Michelle.....  5|  5   5  14  .000|  5|  1   1|  1| 10| 0  1  1|  0|   6.5
 9  PENCHEVA, Mariana...  5| 14   6  37  .216|  2|  0   0|  1|  2| 3  3  1|  0|  18.5
 10 MIRAMONTES, Lauren..  5| 11   4  35  .200|  0|  1   1|  0|  3| 0  6  0|  0|  15.0
 14 JOHNSON, Jennifer...  5| 13   8  44  .114|  1|  0   0|  0|  4| 0  1  0|  0|  13.5
 2  LUMSDEN, Brittani...  5|  1   0   6  .167|  3|  1   0|  0| 11| 0  0  0|  0|   2.0
 5  KOOCHI, Kristin.....  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 6  ALADJOVA, Maria.....  5| 18  10  42  .190|  1|  0   0|  0|  4| 0  1  0|  0|  18.5
 7  WALKER, Jada........  5|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   2|  2| 12| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 12 FLAHAVEN, Ashley....  3|  3   1   7  .286|  0|  0   0|  0|  3| 0  2  0|  0|   4.0
 13 REID, Kortney.......  1|  1   2   3 -.333|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   1.0
 16 CASARES, Anna.......  2|  0   0   1  .000|  0|  0   1|  0|  4| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  5| 71  39 209  .153| 65|  5   6|  4| 80| 3 18  2|  1|  88.0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 12.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  13 11  44  .045   Site: Las Vegas (Cox Pavilion)
   2  17 10  54  .130   Date: Nov 25, 2005   Attend: 813   Time: 2 H 39M
   3  14  6  39  .205   Referees: PATSY MALTA, VERNA KLUBNIKIN
   4  20  6  42  .333
   5   7  6  30  .033

PROVO -- No. 21 BYU heads to the Mountain West Conference Tournament this week in Las Vegas as the No. 1 seed for the first time since the league's inaugural year in 1999. With the regular-season title already in hand, the Cougars are looking to make a strong showing and improve their 23-2 overall record by winning the tournament title that has eluded them since 2000.

"We look forward to the start of the Mountain West Conference Tournament," said BYU head coach Jason Watson. "Our program has shown improvement over the course of the regular season and we feel good about our direction heading into the postseason."

Play for BYU begins on Thursday at 4 p.m. PST when the Cougars face the winner of Tuesday's play-in-game between the eighth-seeded TCU Horned Frogs and the ninth-seeded Air Force Falcons. BYU will then take on either fourth-seeded and tournament-host UNLV or fifth-seeded San Diego State on Friday at 5 p.m. The Cougars swept the season series with all four of their potential quarterfinal and semifinal opponents. The championship match will be played Saturday night at 8 p.m.

The Cougars have never lost in the opening round of the MWC Tournament and have advanced to the championship match in three of the league's six years. BYU is 10-5 all-time in the tournament and 2-1 as the No. 1 seed.

BYU will be playing for more than just the MWC tournament title this week as they look ahead to seeding in the NCAA Tournament, which begins Dec. 1 at locations to be determined. The Cougars have a good chance of hosting the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament if they perform well this week.

For the second year in a row, CSTV will provide coverage of the 2005 MWC Volleyball Championship, airing seven of the eight matches being played. Live coverage is available for every match of the Tournament with the exception of Tuesday's play-in-game, which will not be aired, and Friday's first semifinal, which will be aired tape-delayed at 10 p.m. PST. Bill Doleman will call the play-by-play while BYU's own Amy Gant will provide color commentary.

Fans of the Cougars can catch the action on the Sports Tier of Comcast Cable (Channel 269) or on the Digital Basic package of the Bresnan cable system (Channel 411). The Tournament will also be aired on DirecTV (Channel 610) and Dish Network (Channel 152). Live stats for all of BYU's tournament matches are available by going to the schedule page of BYU's women's volleyball homepage at http://www.byucougars.com/volleyball_w/.