STOCKTON -- BYU wrapped up the No. 2 seed in the upcoming MPSF as the No. 2 Cougars picked up a 30-24, 30-26, 30-24 sweep over No. 14 Pacific.

BYU improves to 21-5 overall and 17-4 in the MPSF and secures the No. 2 seed because of a tiebreaker over third-place UC Irvine. The Tigers, who dropped to 14-16 overall and 8-13 in MPSF play, were eliminated from postseason play with the loss.

"We are proud to be the No. 2 seed," co-head coach Shawn Patchell said. "We've worked hard to achieve this and we are proud of what we accomplished."

Ivan Perez led the Cougars offensively with 10 kills on 16 swings while committing just two errors for a .438 hitting percentage. BYU dominated the blocking category as the Cougars out-blocked Pacific 15.0 to 9.0. Russell Holmes had a dominating blocking effort, picking up nine block assists and one block solo in just three sets.

"Russell and Trent (Sorensen) were dominant today," Patchell said. "They were our emotional leaders and had good matches. Ivan had a good offensive day for us."

The Tigers jumped to an early 3-1 lead in the first set as the Tigers recorded back-to-back blocks early on. It didn't take BYU long to assert itself as the Cougars went on a 12-4 run to get a commanding 13-7 lead. BYU's blocking came alive as the Cougars never trailed in the first set again. BYU opened up as large as an eight-point advantage and held on to take the first set on a Pekka Seppanen service error.

In the second set, the two teams battled back-and-forth early in the game. With the Tigers leading 11-7, BYU scored six consecutive points to take a 13-11 lead. Pacific battled back to tie the set at 15 but the Cougars jumped back ahead, going on a 7-3 lead to take a four-point advantage that held throughout the rest of the set. BYU took the game on a Joe Forbes service error.

The third set was another back-and-forth battle with neither team building more than a one-point lead in the early going. With the scored tied at 10, the Cougars reeled off four consecutive points, the final two coming off back-to-back Holmes blocks. BYU never looked back, as the Cougars build as much as a six-point advantage on its way to the sweep. BYU put the match away on a Sorensen kill.

The same two teams will wrap up regular season play Saturday night as the play at 7 p.m. (PDT)

Volleyball Box Score
    #2 BYU Cougars vs #14 Pacific Tigers (Apr 13, 2007 at Stockton, Calif.)
    BYU Cougars            |     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  16  .312|  0|  0   4|  3|  5| 0  5  1|  0
 7  SORENSEN, Trent.....  3|  5   0   9  .556|  2|  1   1|  0|  5| 0  4  0|  0
 8  PEREZ, Ivan.........  3| 10   3  16  .438|  0|  0   4|  1|  0| 0  4  1|  0
 11 HOLMES, Russell.....  3|  6   2  12  .333|  0|  0   4|  0|  1| 1  9  0|  1
 13 STOWELL, Robby......  3|  7   5  15  .133|  0|  0   2|  0|  3| 0  1  2|  0
 14 PEREZ, Yamil........  3|  0   0   1  .000| 30|  1   2|  0|  3| 0  5  0|  0
 4  CONGELLIERE, Brian..  1|  0   0   0  .000|  2|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  1|  0
 5  COX, Scott..........  2|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 6  SILVA, Joel.........  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  5| 0  0  0|  0
 15 TAYLOR, Mat.........  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 17 STEWART, Andrew.....  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
    TEAM................   |                 |   |       |  1|   |        |
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  3| 36  13  69  .333| 34|  2  17|  5| 22| 1 28  5|  1
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 15.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  13  5  24  .333   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  TEAM RECORDS
   2  12  5  26  .269   BYU Cougars......... (3) 30 30 30  21-5 (17-4 MPSF)
   3  11  3  19  .421   Pacific Tigers...... (0) 24 26 24  14-16 (8-13 MPSF)
    Pacific Tigers         |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1  Morales, Garrett....  1|  1   0   1 1.000|  6|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 10 Hammer, Dan.........  1|  0   1   2 -.500|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 1  3  0|  0
 11 Nutkevitch, Maor....  3|  6   5  15  .067|  3|  0   5|  2|  4| 0  1  0|  0
 13 Seppanen, Pekka.....  3|  9   6  23  .130|  2|  1   5|  0|  3| 1  4  0|  0
 14 Chen-Byerley, Simon.  3|  8   1  10  .700|  0|  0   1|  0|  1| 0  1  0|  0
 16 Cornell, Matt.......  3|  1   7  13 -.462|  1|  0   3|  0|  1| 0  1  0|  0
 2  Hazelett, Mitchel...  3|  4   0   5  .800| 22|  2   4|  0|  0| 0  1  0|  1
 3  Forbes, Joe.........  2|  0   1   1-1.000|  0|  0   2|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 4  Gentry, Blake.......  2|  6   2  12  .333|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  3  0|  0
 6  Pratte, Kevin.......  2|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  1   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 8  Bauhs, Mark.........  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  5| 0  0  0|  0
 15 Hendershot, Jeff....  3|  2   3  10 -.100|  0|  1   1|  0|  3| 0  1  0|  0
 17 Hollenbeck, Todd....  1|  1   0   1 1.000|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  3| 38  26  93  .129| 34|  5  24|  2| 17| 2 15  0|  1
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 9.5
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  13  9  31  .129   Site: Stockton, Calif. (Alex G. Spanos Ctr.)
   2  12  8  34  .118   Date: Apr 13, 2007   Attend: 610   Time: 1:26
   3  13  9  28  .143   Referees: Brig Beatie, Mickey Matthews

PROVO -- After securing a home-court match in the quarterfinals of the MPSF Tournament and reaching the 20-win plateau for the ninth time, BYU heads out on the road for its final matches of the regular season as the Cougars take on Pacific. BYU will be looking to secure the No. 2 seed in the MPSF Tournament as the Cougars hold a one-game lead over UC Irvine. Pepperdine has already clinched the regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the tournament. Meanwhile, Pacific will be fighting for the eighth--and final--seed of the MPSF tournament.

SERIES INFORMATION

BYU has enjoyed a 16-5 series record over Pacific since the two teams' first match in 1993. The Cougars have a perfect 11-0 home record while the Tigers have an even 5-5 record on their home court. BYU won seven of the first eight matches played between the two teams.

The Cougars won both matches last year. The last time the two teams played in Stockton, each team won one match. Overall, BYU has won six of the last seven matches between the two teams. BYU's longest win streak over Pacific is four matches while the Tigers have never won consecutive matches over the Cougars.

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 weekend, live audio will be provided by the University of the Pacific. Fans can access the audio by clicking on the "Live Audio" link on the men's volleyball schedule page.

LUCKY NUMBER .300

BYU is a perfect 20-0 this season in matches that the Cougars hit over .300. Conversely, they are 0-5 in matches where they hit under .300.

20-WIN SEASONS

With BYU's victory over UC San Diego April 7, the Cougars won their 20th game. After finishing the 2006 season with a 18-9 record, BYU was held without 20 wins for the first time since the 2000 season. The Cougars have recorded 20-win seasons in eight of the last nine years. The first BYU team to record 20 wins was the 1994 team. The 1994 team finished its season with a 21-6 record and advanced to the final of the MPSF Tournament, losing to Stanford in four games.