PROVO -- What started out looking like another three-game route for the BYU men's volleyball team, quickly turned into a five-game thriller on Saturday with the eighth-ranked Cougars holding of No. 10 Lewis, 3-2 in front of 2,441 fans at the Smith Fieldhouse. With the win, BYU improves to a perfect 3-0 on the season, while Lewis drops to 1-3.

"This was a good match for us tonight," BYU head coach Carl McGown said. "We've got some tough matches ahead and we needed a match like this to force us to play under pressure. I think we learned some things about ourselves tonight."

After forcing the Flyers to hit just .074 (11-9-27) and .000 (12-12-27) in games one and two, BYU took an easy 2-0 lead in the match, 30-24, 30-27.

"We didn't really play all that well in the first two games and then I wanted to get some guys some reps in game three," McGown said. "I think when you add all that up, it gave them some momentum. They're a good team and did what they had to do to force us to a fifth game."

In game three, the Flyers committed just five errors, hitting .438 for the game. Led by freshman Fabiamo Barreto and his eight kills, Lewis took a seven-point lead and held on for the 30-23 win. In game four, it was more of the same. Barreto collected eight more kills and fought off a late BYU surge to win, 30-28.

In the fifth and deciding game, BYU took the lead from the start on one of Scott Bunker's two aces on the night. After Lewis tied things up at 4-4, the Cougars turned to Joaquin Acosta, who's gentle tap-over gave BYU the lead for good. Acosta's kill minutes later gave BYU a two-point cushion at 7-5, when Bunker dropped a quick-hit to push the lead to 8-5. Back-to-back LU attack errors capped a five-point run for the Cougars, giving BYU an 11-5 lead before the Flyers managed their sixth point. The Cougars closed out the match with a 3-2 run, fueled by an Acosta shot that bounced off Jose Martins' face, sending him to the lockerrom. Leading 14-8, BYU's Mike Wall cleared the ball to the Lewis backcourt, where it dropped in for the match-winning point. BYU hit .750 (9-0-12) in game five, while Lewis hit just .059 (6-5-17).

Wall finished the match with a season-high 30 kills, hitting .415 on the night. Bunker collected 13 kills and seven blocks, while Matt Olsen produced 12 kills and eight blocks. Setter Hector Lebron led the BYU offense with 68 assists and three kills of his own. Acosta managed just seven kills but recorded seven blocks on the night.

Barreto led Lewis with 30 kills, while Jeff Getz and Jorge Alifonso combined for 22 kills.

BYU will next travel to USC on Wednesday, Jan. 31, taking on the third-ranked Trojans. Match time is slated for 7 p.m. (PST). Following a Friday, Feb. 2 match at Cal State Northridge, the Cougars will return to Provo, taking on UC San Diego on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 9-10.

#10 Lewis vs Brigham Young (Jan 27, 2001 at Provo, Utah)
    #10 Lewis              |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 2  GETZ, Jeff..........  5| 10   7  24  .125|  6|  0   2|  0|  3| 1  1  1|  0
 5  ALIFONSO, Jorge.....  5| 12   8  22  .182|  0|  2   2|  1| 11| 1  2  3|  0
 9  AVILES, Paul........  5|  8   5  19  .158|  0|  0   0|  0|  2| 0  3  0|  0
 10 BARRETO, Fabiamo....  5| 30  10  45  .444|  2|  0   1|  0|  8| 0  4  0|  0
 12 MILLER, Kevin.......  3|  0   4   5 -.800|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  4  0|  0
 18 MARTINS, Jose.......  5|  3   1   8  .250| 59|  0   0|  0|  5| 0  2  0|  2
 7  FLORES, Will........  5|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  3|  4| 0  0  0|  0
 15 PEREZ, Jorge........  5|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 17 ELSEA,  James.......  4|  7   0  10  .700|  0|  0   1|  0|  1| 0  2  1|  1
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  5| 70  35 133  .263| 68|  2   8|  4| 34| 2 18  5|  3
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 11.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  11  9  27  .074   GAME SCORES           1  2  3  4  5  TEAM RECORDS
   2  12 12  27  .000   #10 Lewis........... 24 27 30 30  8  1 - 3
   3  19  5  32  .438   Brigham Young....... 30 30 23 28 15  3 - 0
   4  22  4  30  .600
   5   6  5  17  .059
    Brigham Young          |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 2  WALL, Mike..........  5| 30   8  53  .415|  0|  0   3|  0|  5| 1  3  0|  0
 3  ACOSTA, Joaquin.....  5|  7   6  21  .048|  0|  0   5|  1|  6| 0  7  0|  0
 4  OLSEN, Matt.........  5| 12   1  22  .500|  0|  1   7|  0|  0| 0  8  1|  0
 7  MAYOL, Jaime........  4|  7   2  12  .417|  1|  0   1|  1|  2| 0  3  0|  1
 9  LEBRON, Hector......  5|  3   1   8  .250| 68|  0   0|  0|  3| 0  2  1|  2
 13 BUNKER, Scott.......  5| 13   1  17  .706|  0|  2   2|  0|  0| 1  6  1|  0
 5  WILSON, Mac.........  1|  0   1   1-1.000|  0|  0   1|  0|  1| 0  1  0|  0
 10 LARSEN, Jeremiah....  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 12 ALLEMAN, Jonathan...  1|  0   1   2 -.500|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  0  1|  1
 17 PESSOA, Fernando....  5|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   0|  0|  3| 0  0  0|  0
 18 SLABE, Luka.........  5|  2   2   5  .000|  1|  1   2|  0|  1| 0  1  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  5| 74  23 141  .362| 71|  4  21|  2| 22| 2 31  4|  4
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 17.5
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  15  6  35  .257   Site: Provo, Utah (Smith Fieldhouse)
   2  13  8  25  .200   Date: Jan 27, 2001   Attend: 2441   Time: 2:12
   3  15  6  32  .281   Referees: Les Calles, Tom Given
   4  22  3  37  .514
   5   9  0  12  .750

PROVO, Utah -- The eighth-ranked BYU men's volleyball team will take on tenth-ranked Lewis on Saturday, beginning at 7 p.m. (MST). The Cougars (2-0) are coming off a two-match sweep over LaVerne last weekend, while Lewis (1-2) enters Saturday's match following a four-game victory over Rutgers-Newark on Jan. 19. Saturday's match will mark the fourth meeting between the two teams. BYU owns a 3-0 lead in the series, dating back to the 1997 season. The Cougars and Flyers met last season in Provo, with BYU winning both contests, 3-0.

LEADER OF THE PACK

BYU head coach Carl McGown enters his 12th season at the helm of the BYU men's volleyball program. The 1999 AVCA National Coach of the Year has posted a career mark of 161-120 over the past 11 seasons, including a record 30-1 season in 1999. Since the 1997 campaign, McGown has averaged over 21 wins per year, recording a mark of 86-21 (.804). McGown led BYU to its first-ever National Championship in 1999 and has served as coach and as an advisor for the United States Olympic and National teams in various Olympic and international competitions.

HE'S BACK

BYU senior setter Hector Lebron has returned to the BYU lineup after redshirting the 2000 season. Lebron, a 1999 All-American and starting setter for the Cougars' National Championship team, currently ranks third on the BYU all-time career assist list with 3,229 assists. Lebron needs 504 assists to move into second place, passing Chris Pitzak. The current career record is held by Jason Watson, who recorded 4,649 assists from 1991-94. In addition, Lebron averages 1.34 blocks per game, ranking fourth among BYU's career blocks-per-game leaders. In 2001, Lebron has averaged 1.0 blocks and 14.3 assists per game.

HOME SWEET HOME

Already off to a 2-0 record in the Smith Fieldhouse, the Cougars have posted an impressive 42-3 (.933) record in Provo since the 1998 season and a 55-5 (.917) overall mark at home since the 1997 campaign. As one of the most popular sporting events on campus, over 136,000 fans have packed the Smith Fieldhouse and Marriott Center to watch the Cougars. BYU has averaged 3,178 fans per match since the 1997 season, including a record 4,748 fans per match in 1999. On Feb. 19, 1999, BYU defeated Hawai'i, 3-1, in front of 14, 156 fans in the Marriott Center to set the NCAA single-match attendance record.

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL

Junior outside hitter Mike Wall leads the BYU roster with 21 kills on the season, averaging 5.25 kills per game. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound junior led the Cougars with three 30-kill performances as a sophomore, including a career-high 42-kill performance against UCLA on March 1. The Santa Barbara, Calif., native has produced 23 matches with 10 or more kills and 10 matches with 20 or more kills over his career.

TEAM INTERNATIONAL

The 2001 BYU roster is highlighted with players from around the world, including five players from Puerto Rico. The Cougars also have one player, Fernando Pessoa, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and one player, Luka Slabe, from Ljubljana, Slovenia. All-American setter Hector Lebron, All-MPSF performer Joaquin Acosta and Jaime Mayol welcome Puerto Rican newcomers Angel Perez and Omar Olmeda to the 2001 roster.