In-state Action Up Next For No. 17 BYU

PROVO -- The No. 17 BYU women's volleyball team will step out of Mountain West Conference play on Tuesday night with a match against Weber State at 7 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse. The contest pitting the Cougars (18-2, 9-1 MWC) and the Wildcats (4-22, 1-11 Big Sky) will be televised nationally on BYU-TV.

"Weber State is an in-state nonconference opponent with a lot of the same systems as us," said BYU head coach Jason Watson. "It's important for us to be successful against in-state competition. We hope we can come in focused and determined to do our best."

BYU is coming off two weekend sweeps of UNLV and San Diego State that improved the Cougars to 19-1 at home over the last two seasons. BYU's attendance average of 2,147 currently ranks eighth in the nation.

Of the seven overall statistical categories tracked by the Mountain West Conference, BYU players lead the league in four of them (hitting percentage -- Rachel Dyer; kills -- Chelsea Goodman; assists -- Amy Schlauder; points -- Chelsea Goodman) and are second in one other (blocks -- Lindsy Hartsock). Goodman is also ranked in the remaining two statistical categories as she is ninth in aces and 10th in digs. BYU also packs one-two punches in three categories as Rachel Dyer and Lindsy Hartsock rank first and second, respectively, in hitting percentage; Chelsea Goodman and Erica Lott rank first and second, respectively, in kills; and Goodman and Lott also rank first and second, respectively, in points.

The Wildcats are 4-22 so far this season, having split two matches against Utah Valley State College and losing in three games to Utah. Weber State is also 0-10 on the road. The Wildcats are sophomore outside hitters Chelsea Bair with 3.33 kills per game and Leah Burmeister with 3.13 kpg. Bair is also second on the team in digs per game with 3.44 while senior libero Keelee Kap paces Weber with 4.17 dpg. The Wildcat block is led by sophomore middle blocker Brittney Bisaillon, who averages 1.45 blocks per game. As a team, the Wildcats hit .145 while allowing opponents a .208 attack efficiency. BYU has never lost to Weber State, going 54-0 in the all-time series.

Fans of BYU women's volleyball can catch all the action of Tuesday's match in a variety of ways. In addition to the national BYU-TV broadcast, the match will be streamed live over the Internet to all BYU Cougars All-Access and CSTV XXL subscribers. Live stats will also be available. Links to these options can be found by clicking on the schedule page of the BYU women's volleyball homepage at www.byucougars.com.

BYU will return to action on Friday as the Cougars travel to Sal Lake City to take on No. 9 Utah in match with MWC title implications.