Tight Win for Cougars

PROVO -- It came down to almost the last two points, but the Cougars held out to win a 30-27, 30-25, 28-30, 27-30, 15-13 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation win over UC Irvine. With the win, BYU improves to 15-4 (13-3 MPSF) on the season, while UC Irvine falls to 15-8 (8-8 MPSF) on the year.

Middle blocker Michael Burke hit a match-high .577 with 17 kills and seven blocks for the Cougars, while three other Cougars hit double-digit kills and Jonathan Alleman recorded a double-double with 21 kills and 10 digs in the close 5-game match.

I think it's just part of who we are. In pressure situations I think our character comes through," BYU head coach Tom Peterson said. "We've worked long and hard. We've been in a little bit of a rut emotionally trying different things, but the character is still there and I really think that's what won it for us."

With the match tied 2-2, the Cougars came out determined to win the match. Burke scored the first point to get the momentum going and the 2,489 fans roaring. After that it was a close game, but the Cougars definitely had the crowd on their side.

"It's a lot about home-court advantage. Our crowd is so good and pumps everyone up" Burke said. "It's hard for the other team when everyone's cheering against them. Our guys really stepped up, too. There were a lot of good plays in the end."

Dave Hyte stepped up to give the Cougars a one-point advantage from a 13-point tie, then UC Irvine's Nic Vislay hit the ball into the net for the BYU win.

On the night, BYU hit .297 to UC Irvine's .277, and although the Anteaters out-blocked the Cougars 17.0 to 13.0, BYU stayed in the game with digs and kills. Rafael Paal recorded four aces on the night--three in the first game alone. Paal also added nine digs, four blocks and 12 kills. Carlos Moreno guided the offense with 68 assists, while Fernando Pessoa played a crucial defensive role with 15 digs.

For the Anteaters, Jimmy Pelzel hit a match-high 24 kills (.386) and Spencer Bemus recorded a double-double with 18 kills and 10 digs.

Next week the Cougars will continue MPSF play at CS Northridge on March 21 and 22.

Volleyball Box Score
                        2003 BYU Men's Volleyball Stats
     No. 7 UC Irvine vs Brigham Young (Mar 15, 2003 at Brigham Young Univ)
    No. 7 UC Irvine        |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1  BEMUS, Spencer......  5| 18   7  38  .289|  1|  2   4|  0| 10| 0  2  0|  0
 2  PELZEL, Jimmy.......  5| 24   7  44  .386|  0|  0   5|  0|  4| 3  5  0|  0
 5  KNIFFIN, David......  5|  0   0   1  .000| 68|  0   0|  0|  4| 0  6  0|  0
 15 JENSEN, Jarett......  2|  2   3  10 -.100|  0|  0   2|  1|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 16 WEICHERT, Kyle......  5| 12   2  27  .370|  0|  0   1|  0|  2| 0  5  1|  0
 33 MARCHEWKA, Russ.....  2|  6   3  11  .273|  0|  2   2|  1|  2| 0  2  0|  0
 3  VISLAY, Nic.........  3|  7   2  16  .312|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  6  0|  0
 6  FORD, Greg..........  5|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  3| 13| 0  0  0|  0
 7  TUCKER, Monte.......  5|  3   4  12 -.083|  0|  0   4|  0|  4| 1  0  0|  0
 14 GEMISE-FAREAU, Jerom  5|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  5| 72  28 159  .277| 69|  4  19|  5| 40| 4 26  1|  0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 17.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  17  7  31  .323   GAME SCORES           1  2  3  4  5  TEAM RECORDS
   2  13  7  35  .171   No. 7 UC Irvine..... 27 25 30 30 13  15-8 8-8
   3  16  7  43  .209   Brigham Young....... 30 30 28 27 15  15-4 13-3
   4  18  3  33  .455
   5   8  4  17  .235
    Brigham Young          |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  BURKE, Michael......  5| 17   2  26  .577|  0|  0   1|  0|  3| 0  7  1|  0
 5  MORENO, Carlos......  5|  3   0   7  .429| 68|  0   3|  0|  4| 0  2  1|  0
 7  MAYOL, Jaime........  5| 18  13  38  .132|  2|  0   0|  2|  4| 0  6  2|  0
 8  HYTE, David.........  5|  6   1  11  .455|  0|  0   2|  0|  2| 0  5  1|  0
 9  PAAL, Rafael........  5| 12   6  31  .194|  0|  4   7|  2|  9| 0  4  2|  0
 12 ALLEMAN, Jonathan...  5| 21   8  41  .317|  1|  0   1|  0| 10| 0  2  0|  1
 1  PATTERSON, Casey....  5|  0   1   1-1.000|  0|  1   1|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0
 4  HILLMAN, Joe........  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 15 OLMSTEAD, Shawn.....  2|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 17 PESSOA, Fernando....  5|  0   0   0  .000|  3|  0   0|  0| 15| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  5| 77  31 155  .297| 74|  5  16|  4| 48| 0 26  7|  1
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 13.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  16  6  27  .370   Site: Brigham Young Univ (Smith Fieldhouse)
   2  12  5  29  .241   Date: Mar 15, 2003   Attend: 2489   Time: 2:28
   3  19  8  43  .256   Referees: BURT FULLER, TOM GIVEN, ERIN YAMASHITA
   4  21  8  38  .342
   5   9  4  18  .278

PROVO -- The BYU men's volleyball team returns to conference play this weekend, hosting seventh-ranked UC Irvine in back-to-back Mountain Pacific Sports Federation matches Friday (March 14) and Saturday (March 15) at 7 p.m.

"These matches will be huge," BYU head coach Tom Peterson said. "We need to win these to have a shot at the conference championship. But Irvine will be in a must-win situation, too."

Friday's match marks the 27th meeting between the teams, with third-ranked BYU (13-4, 11-3 MPSF) holding a 21-5 advantage in the series with UC Irvine (15-6, 8-6 MPSF). BYU has won the last four contests and 21 of the last 22.

The Anteaters opened the season on a 10-match winning streak and spent a few weeks as number one in the polls, but recently have suffered five losses in their past eight matches to drop down to No. 7. The Cougars are enjoying their fifth week in the No. 3 spot despite splitting their last two matches with non-conference opponent Penn State.

Both matches begin at 7 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse. Due to construction next to the Fieldhouse, fans will enter through the large annex doors on the west side of the building. Tickets will be available at the door starting an hour and a half before game time or at the Marriott Center Ticket Office, (801)378-BYU1.