PROVO -- It took four sets for the No. 3 BYU men's volleyball team (24-4, 18-4) to beat No. 8 UC Irvine (16-15, 11-11) Saturday in the Smith Fieldhouse as the Cougars now advance to the semifinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoffs with the 3-1 win (30-20, 30-22, 28-30, 30-28).

UCI beat BYU in the semifinals of the 2007 MPSF playoffs on its way to a national title. BYU's semifinal opponent in this years race for a title will be Cal State Northridge who beat Stanford in three sets Saturday in a quarterfinal match.

Senior All-MPSF First Team selection Ivan Perez recorded a match-high 19 kills on .406 hitting with a match-high 12 digs. The feat marked the ninth double-double for Perez this season. Joining Perez with 10 or more kills were sophomore Andrew Stewart (12), senior Jonathan Charette (11), and senior All-MPSF First Team honoree Russell Holmes (10).

"We played great for two sets and 28 points," BYU head coach Shawn Patchell said. "You can't blink in this conference or you'll get beat. Now that we're in the playoffs there are seniors out there that are fighting to stay on the floor for another match. UCI's a great team, but we're happy to be moving on."

The Cougars dominated the first set both offensively and defensively in a 30-20 win. BYU hit .517 as a team with Charette tallying five kills on eight swings to lead all attackers. The Cougars also racked up 4.5 total team blocks in the set, including a set-winning block solo from Holmes, an All-MPSF First Team selection. The Anteaters hit only .111 as a team in the set with 1.0 total team blocks.

The second set opened with a much closer battle than the first set ended, but BYU finished strong to take the set 30-22. UCI was down only two at 16-14, but would not get any closer. The Cougars continued to smoke the ball on offense and remain solid at the net with a .556 attack percentage and 4.0 total team blocks in the set. Perez, another All-MPSF honoree, led all attackers with six kills on six swings in the set.

The Anteaters won the fourth set 30-28 thanks to a 5-0 run at the end of the set. UCI led 12-11, and did not lead again until they were up 29-28. BYU led 28-25, but lost the next five points to drop the set. The Cougars hit .357 to UCI's .250, had 2.0 blocks to UCI's none, and 16 digs to UCI's eight, but were still not able to close out the set.

The 30-28 fourth-set win was a far cry from BYU's two previous set wins. Neither team was able to pull away during the set though both teams held the lead at various points in the set. The Anteaters last held the lead at 26-25 and were within a point down 29-28, but Perez's 19th kill of the match sealed UCI's fate and propelled the Cougars into the semifinals of the MPSF playoffs.

"There are no clocks in volleyball, and you have to fight to win every point," Patchell said. "We didn't play great in the fourth set, but we found a way to win."

BYU's next opponent will be Cal State Northridge in Long Beach, Calif., on Thursday. The Cougars beat the Matadors twice during the regular season, but CSUN went on to win its next 14 matches after the back-to-back losses in Provo.

Volleyball Box Score
                     Brigham Young Univ. Cougar VolleyBall
     #8 UC Irvine vs #3 Brigham Young (Apr 19, 2008 at BYU PROVO UT 84602)
   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  Steller, Jon........  4| 12   7  36  .139|  0|  0   3|  0|  4| 0  1  0|  0
2  Wilson, Taylor......  4| 12   7  30  .167|  2|  0   6|  1|  6| 0  2  0|  0
4  Spittle, Anthony....  4|  0   0   0  .000| 36|  1   5|  0|  5| 0  0  0|  0
15 Yoder, Cory.........  1|  2   3   8 -.125|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
19 Wynne, Kevin........  4|  8   3  15  .333|  1|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
21 Harrell, Aaron......  4|  8   1  15  .467|  0|  2   3|  0|  1| 0  4  0|  0
3  Ammerman, Ryan......  2|  0   0   0  .000| 11|  0   2|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  1
5  Reinholm, Cole......  1|  1   1   3  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
6  Spittle, Nick.......  4|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
7  DuFault, Jordan.....  1|  2   1   7  .143|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
8  Asuka, Brent........  4|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   0|  1| 11| 0  0  0|  0
14 Carroll,Kevin.......  3|  9   5  21  .190|  0|  0   2|  0|  2| 1  1  0|  0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Totals..............  4| 54  28 135  .193| 51|  3  24|  2| 29| 1  8  0|  1
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 5.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  10  7  27  .111   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  4  TEAM RECORDS
   2  12  5  27  .259   UC Irvine........... (1) 20 22 30 28  16-15; 11-11; MPSF
   3  17  6  44  .250   Brigham Young....... (3) 30 30 28 30  24- 4; 18- 4; MPSF
   4  15 10  37  .135
   Brigham Young          |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
7  SORENSEN, Trent.....  4|  8   4  17  .235|  3|  0   5|  0|  4| 0  6  0|  0
8  PEREZ, Ivan.........  4| 19   6  32  .406|  3|  2   5|  1| 12| 0  2  0|  1
11 HOLMES, Russell.....  4| 10   2  16  .500|  1|  0   1|  0|  0| 1  7  0|  0
13 CHARETTE, Jonathan..  4| 11   4  27  .259|  1|  0   3|  0|  5| 0  4  0|  0
14 PEREZ, Yamil........  4|  2   1   3  .333| 44|  0   3|  0|  7| 0  0  1|  1
15 STEWART, Andrew.....  4| 12   2  22  .455|  0|  0   2|  1|  5| 0  8  0|  0
3  CHILTON, Reed.......  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
4  CONGELLIERE, Brian..  2|  0   0   0  .000|  2|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0
6  SILVA, Joel.........  4|  0   0   0  .000|  2|  0   0|  1|  8| 0  0  0|  0
10 TAYLOR, Mat.........  3|  0   0   1  .000|  0|  0   1|  0|  2| 0  0  0|  0
16 JUSTEN, Leandro.....  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   1|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Totals..............  4| 62  19 118  .364| 56|  2  21|  3| 45| 1 27  1|  2
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 14.5
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  17  2  29  .517   Site: BYU PROVO UT 84602 (SMITH FIELDHOUSE)
   2  19  4  27  .556   Date: Apr 19, 2008   Attend: 1224   Time: 2h
   3  14  4  28  .357   Referees: ERIC ASAMI, TOM GIVEN, TRENT MANO, JA; LC
   4  12  9  34  .088

(PROVO, Utah) -- The No. 3 BYU men's volleyball team (23-4, 18-4) enters the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament as the No. 2 seed this Saturday at the Smith Fieldhouse and will host No. 8 UC Irvine (16-14, 11-11), the No. 7 seed, with the start time set for 7 p.m.

The Cougars beat the Anteaters twice in Irvine, Calif., earlier this season, once in five sets and then in four the following match. The 28-26 victory in the fifth set on February 15 was the longest fifth set in MPSF history. The Cougars are also 14-3 against the Anteaters since 2001, but only 3-4 against them since the end of the 2005 season. BYU swept UCI in three games in Provo in 2007, but lost in five sets the following night. The two teams met again in the second round of the MPSF Tournament when the Anteaters got the better end of another five-set encounter. UCI then went on to win the conference title and the NCAA Championship.

UC Irvine entered the MPSF playoffs as the No. 7 seed and beat the No. 8 seeded USC in five sets in a play-in match Wednesday night in Irvine, Calif., to earn the trip to Provo to face the Cougars. The Anteaters have won four of their last five matches, highlighted by a four-set victory over Cal State Northridge. The defending National Champions are led offensively by Jon Stellar who averaged 3.77 kills per set in conference play this season with a .314 attack percentage. Aaron Harrell leads the Anteater defense at the net with 109 total blocks in conference play.

Since 1993, BYU has qualified for the MPSF postseason tournament in 13 of 14 seasons including 12 consecutive trips. The Cougars all-time record in the MPSF tournament is 17-11. BYU has won the MPSF tournament three times and holds an 9-5 record in the first round, 4-5 record in the semifinals and a perfect 3-0 record in tournament finals. The Cougars won consecutive MPSF tournament championships in 2003 and 2004.

Tickets for the match are available at the door and at the BYU Ticket Office. Ticket prices are as follows. Student All-Sport Passes will not be accepted.

Courtside: $20

Reserved: $12

General Admission -- Adult: $10

General Admission -- Student: $5

For more information, please see the attached PDF document.