HONOLULU -- Russell Holmes and Robby Stowell, coupled with hot serving, led No. 2 BYU to a dominating sweep over No. 9 Penn State (1-2), 30-22, 30-23, 30-18. The sweep was the fifth consecutive for the Cougars (7-0).

Holmes dominated the middle, leading the Cougars in kills (11), blocks (six) and hitting percentage (.667). Stowell added 11 kills of his own while swinging at a .474 mark. Ivan Perez (four aces) and Yosleyder Cala (three aces) were dominating behind the service line.

BYU got off to a quick start. Behind 3-1, the Cougars rolled off four consecutive points to grab a 5-3 lead. The early lead was one BYU would not relinquish as the Cougars led throughout the first set. The Cougars went ahead 10-6 on a Stowell kill that forced a Penn State timeout.

Later in the first set, Cala drilled back-to-back service aces to give BYU a 14-8 lead. The Nittany Lions came back with their largest run of the set, a 5-1 spurt that closed the Cougars' lead to 15-13 and forced a BYU timeout. The Cougars came out of the time out with a 5-2 run of their own to rebuild their lead. Ahead 20-15, BYU outscored Penn State, 10-7 to finish the set that was capped by a Rodnei Santos kill.

Stowell led the Cougars in the first set with six kills. Russell Holmes added four kills and a pair of blocks. As a team, BYU hit .407 while PSU was held to just a .071 hitting percentage.

The Cougars started quick again in the second set. With the scored tied at three, BYU's attack took off, as the Cougars reeled off four consecutive points to force a Penn State timeout. BYU got kills from Stowell, Perez and Cala, coupled with a Holmes block to build the advantage. The Cougars once again held their early lead throughout the second set, extending their advantage to nine at 26-17 with a Perez kill. Moments later, BYU went to the middle to finish the set with Holmes driving home the game-winning kill.

BYU's attack was not as efficient in set two, with the Cougars hitting at only a .192 clip. Penn State was held to just .162.

Much like the first two, the third set started in dominating fashion, with the Cougars jumping to a 4-0 lead behind Perez at the service line. Holmes recorded a kill and a block while Perez added a service ace to get out of the gate quickly. BYU kept pouring it on as Stowell knocked down a kill to give the Cougars a nine-point advantage at 16-7. Perez drove home back-to-back aces to give BYU a 25-13 advantage. The Cougars finished the match with a Perez kill. BYU hit a scorching .655 in the third set.

The Cougars are back in action Saturday at 7 p.m. (MST) when they face No. 13 Loyola-Chicago.

Volleyball Box Score
                            The Automated ScoreBook
     #2 Brigham Young Univ. vs #9 Penn State (Jan 26, 2007 at Honolulu, HI)
    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
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1  CALA, Yosleyder.....  3|  8   3  17  .294|  0|  3   3|  0|  4| 0  0  0|  0
 2  SANTOS, Rodnei......  3|  3   1   8  .250|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 1  2  0|  0
 8  PEREZ, Ivan.........  3|  7   3  17  .235|  0|  4   2|  1|  4| 0  2  0|  0
 11 HOLMES, Russell.....  3| 11   1  15  .667|  0|  0   3|  0|  2| 2  4  0|  0
 13 STOWELL, Robby......  3| 11   2  19  .474|  0|  1   3|  0|  3| 0  4  0|  0
 14 PEREZ, Yamil........  3|  0   0   0  .000| 41|  1   2|  0|  2| 0  0  0|  0
 5  COX, Scott..........  3|  3   0   3 1.000|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 6  SILVA, Joel.........  3|  1   0   1 1.000|  0|  0   0|  0| 10| 0  0  0|  0
 7  SORENSEN, Trent.....  3|  1   0   2  .500|  0|  0   1|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0
 12 POMPEI, Andy........  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
    TEAM................   |                 |   |       |  2|   |        |
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  3| 45  10  82  .427| 41|  9  16|  3| 26| 3 12  0|  0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 9.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  14  3  27  .407   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  TEAM RECORDS
   2  12  7  26  .192   Brigham Young Univ.. (3) 30 30 30  7-0, 1-0 OHI
   3  19  0  29  .655   Penn State.......... (0) 22 23 18  1-2, 0-1 OHI
    Penn State             |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 8  Smith, Aaron........  3|  4   3   9  .111|  1|  0   2|  1|  7| 0  2  0|  0
 9  Lipsitz, Max........  3|  3   4  11 -.091|  0|  0   2|  0|  0| 0  3  0|  0
 10 Gutor, Alex.........  3|  9   9  26  .000|  1|  2   1|  1|  4| 0  1  2|  0
 12 Holt, Max...........  3| 11   1  17  .588|  0|  1   3|  0|  0| 0  1  0|  0
 14 Anderson, Matt......  3|  6   7  22 -.045|  0|  0   2|  2|  1| 0  2  0|  0
 16 Murray, Luke........  3|  1   0   3  .333| 29|  0   1|  0|  3| 0  0  0|  0
 2  Foltz, Travis.......  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 6  Walthall, Ryan......  3|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   0|  4|  6| 0  0  0|  0
 13 Sweitzer, Ryan......  3|  0   0   1  .000|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 15 Stauffer, Jay.......  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
    TEAM................   |                 |   |       |  1|   |        |
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  3| 34  24  89  .112| 32|  3  12|  9| 21| 0  9  2|  0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 4.5
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  11  9  28  .071   Site: Honolulu, HI (Stan Sheriff Center)
   2  13  8  31  .161   Date: Jan 26, 2007   Attend:     Time: 1:39
   3  10  7  30  .100   Referees: Wayne Lee, Dan Hironaka
                        13th Outrigger Hotels Invitational

PROVO -- Off to a hot start, No. 2 BYU will take a break from MPSF play to head to Hawaii for a non-conference tournament. The Cougars will play 2006 national runner-up Penn State and Loyola Chicago. After this weekend, BYU will only play one other non-conference match (Feb. 13 at Cal-Baptist).

PENN STATE SERIES INFORMATION

BYU and Penn State have played 11 previous matches. The Nittany Lions hold a 6-5 series advantage over the Cougars. BYU has won five of the last seven matches after dropping the first four the two teams played. Six of the 11 matches the Cougars and the Nittany Lions have played have been on neutral floors, with BYU holding a 4-2 advantage at neutral sites.

Interestingly, Penn State is one of only two teams that BYU has a losing record against on the Cougars home floor (1-3). The Nittany Lions won the last match played between the two teams in five sets on Feb. 5, 2005. None of the seven matches have been sweeps.

LOYOLA-CHICAGO SERIES INFORMATION

When BYU faces Loyola-Chicago, it will be only the second match between the two teams. The Cougars beat the Ramblers in four sets to open their 2000 campaign. BYU and Loyola-Chicago have never played on a neutral court. The

Cougars beat the Ramblers at the Smith Fieldhouse.

MATCH COVERAGE

Every home match will have a free live stats feed option. The live stats feed can be accessed by visiting the men's volleyball schedule page at www.byucougars.com. The direct link is http://www.byucougars.com/Schedule.jsp?SP=201&YR=2006. The live stats can be launched by clicking on the "Live Stats" link for the appropriate game.

Also available for the second season in a row is a live video feed through CSTV All- Access. Users must subscribe to this service. More information, such as cost and direct links to the CSTV All-Access page can be found by visiting the the schedule page and cliking on the "Live Video" link. This weeks' matches will be televised locally on KFVETV (Ch. 5). Chris McLachlin (pbp) and Lisa Strand-Ma'a (color) will do the 4:00 p.m. matches. A link for live stats can also be found through BYU's Web site.

DOMINATING START

BYU is off to its most dominating start in program history (in terms of sets won vs. sets lost) in its first six matches. BYU has won 18 sets against only one loss. Previous to this season, the next best start in school history was the 2001 championship season when the Cougars started 10-0. In its first six matches, BYU won 18 sets while losing two sets (both against Lewis). The Cougars swept eight of their first 10 matches in 2001.

UP NEXT

Pending the results of this week's tournament--and the results of UC Irvines' matches this weekend--No. 2 BYU could have a No. 1 against No. 2 weekend for the second time in as many years. UC Irvine is ranked No. 1 in this weeks poll and BYU is ranked second. The Cougars and Anteaters will face off next weekend at the Smith Fieldhouse.

After UC Irvine, BYU will head back out on the road to take on Cal-Baptist and Pepperdine.