SANTA BARBARA -- Just one night after falling in five sets to No. 10 UC Santa Barbara, the No. 9 BYU men’s volleyball team rebounded to defeat the Gauchos 3-2 (29-31, 31-29, 15-30, 30-24, 15-8) on Saturday night. With the win the Cougars improve to 5-4 on the season and 3-1 in MFSP play. Saturday also marks BYU’s first five-set win of the 2009 season.

The weekend’s two matches were anomalies in a series that has resulted in sweeps in 24 of the previous 39 matchups. Only twice did the competition go on to five sets during that time span.

“Not only is it important to win a five-set match, but to do it on the road is huge for our young team,” said BYU head coach Shawn Patchell. “I’m proud of how we responded from last night’s disappointment. Our team showed resiliency and we made some improvements.”

Several Cougars set new career highs against UCSB, starting with junior opposite Mat Taylor who recorded 26 kills on the night and also led the team with his .429 hitting percentage.

“Mat [Taylor] continues to play really steady and smart volleyball,” said Patchell. “Some of his kills came at big moments when we were out of our system. He was able to manufacture kills and help us get back on track.”

Junior outside hitter Andrew Stewart finished second on the team with 21 kills, while sophomore transfer Alex Da Pron recorded a career-high 10 kills. Junior setter Yamil Perez racked up 66 assists, a new season high, while redshirt freshman Futi Tavana put up a career-high 10 total blocks.

The Cougars found themselves down 3-1 early in the first set before going on a 4-1 run to gain a 7-6 advantage. BYU built two five-point leads before the Gauchos scored five straight points off three consecutive kills to tie the game 25-25. Both teams alternated points before a service ace clinched the set win for UCSB, 31-29.

Game two started identically to the first with the Gauchos holding the early lead. Down 26-22, the Cougars went on a 5-0 run, including kills by Tavana and Taylor and back-to-back service aces by Stewart. Tied 29-29, Kevin Sagers knocked down a powerful kill to force set point. Taylor, Sagers and Otavio Souza combined for a block to win the set 31-29 and tie the match one set all.

In set three BYU and UCSB recorded almost identical kills, 11 and 12 respectively, but the Gauchos put up five blocks, compared to the Cougars’ zero. Combined with BYU’s seven attack errors, too many mistakes resulted in the Gauchos’ 30-15 win.

Neither team could gain more than a one-point lead in the fourth set until a block by Tavana put the Cougars’ up 11-9. BYU extended that lead to four after a team block and kill by Taylor. The Cougars successfully dominated the set, building their lead and taking the Gauchos out of the rhythm they’d built earlier in the match. BYU forced a fifth set after an attack error by UCSB ended the game 30-24.

A kill by Da Pron gave BYU the first point of the final set--the only time the Cougars claimed the first point all night. Four kills from Taylor helped extend BYU’s lead to as much as seven points, at 14-7. With the result of the match on the line, Stewart knocked down a kill, sealing the overall win for BYU. The Cougars had an impressive .714 hitting percentage in the fifth set.

“All the credit goes to Yamil [Perez] for distributing the ball,” said Patchell. “He’s done a terrific job for us. Also, Alex [Da Pron] came in and played really well for us. He really got the momentum going in our favor late in the fourth set and the fifth, and contributed in a positive way.”

Next the Cougars will prepare to hit the road for back-to-back matches against USC on Feb. 6-7. Both matches will begin a 7 p.m. PT. BYU will next play at home in the Smith Fieldhouse on Feb. 20-21 as it hosts UC San Diego.

Volleyball Box Score
                     Brigham Young Univ. Cougar VolleyBall
   #9 BYU Cougars vs #10 UC Santa Barbara (Jan 31, 2009 at Santa Barbara, CA)
   BYU Cougars            |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
9  SOUZA, Otavio.......  3|  3   2  10  .100|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  3  0|  0
10 TAYLOR, Mat.........  5| 26   8  42  .429|  1|  0   4|  0|  6| 0  6  1|  0
11 SAGERS, Kevin.......  3|  7   5  22  .091|  0|  0   3|  0|  6| 0  1  1|  0
14 PEREZ, Yamil........  5|  0   1   1-1.000| 66|  0   4|  0|  8| 1  2  0|  2
15 STEWART, Andrew.....  5| 21   7  41  .341|  2|  2   0|  1|  6| 0  8  0|  0
17 TAVANA, Futi........  5|  9   3  18  .333|  1|  0   2|  0|  0| 1  9  2|  0
1  TUTTLE, Kent........  2|  0   0   1  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
3  CHILTON, Reed.......  4|  2   1   3  .333|  5|  0   1|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0
4  SILVA, Joel.........  5|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   0|  0|  5| 0  0  0|  0
5  LAVAJA, Russell.....  3|  3   1   8  .250|  0|  1   1|  0|  2| 1  0  1|  0
7  ROBINSON, Jeff......  1|  0   0   1  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
8  KAULIAKAMOA, Joe....  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0
23 DA PRON, Alex.......  4| 10   4  19  .316|  0|  1   2|  1|  4| 0  2  0|  0
   TEAM................   |                 |   |       |  1|   |        |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Totals..............  5| 81  32 166  .295| 76|  4  18|  3| 39| 3 31  5|  2
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 18.5
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  19  6  33  .394   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  4  5  TEAM RECORDS
   2  20  8  39  .308   BYU Cougars......... (3) 29 31 15 30 15  5-4, 3-1 MPSF
   3  11 12  38 -.026   UC Santa Barbara.... (2) 31 29 30 24  8  3-5, 1-4 MPSF
   4  20  5  42  .357
   5  11  1  14  .714
   UC Santa Barbara       |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1  Menzel, Jeff........  5| 29  14  60  .250|  1|  1   4|  1|  3| 1  1  1|  0
8  Devany, Vince.......  5|  0   1   1-1.000| 58|  0   2|  0|  5| 0  4  0|  0
12 Irons, Cullen.......  5| 15   7  36  .222|  1|  0   0|  0|  5| 0  1  0|  0
17 Moisenco, Sam.......  5|  3   1   8  .250|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 1  5  1|  0
19 Slaughter, Scott....  5| 12   2  22  .455|  0|  2   0|  0|  1| 1  5  0|  0
22 Nielsen, Blaine.....  5|  8   4  21  .190|  1|  0   0|  1|  8| 0  4  1|  0
20 McGuire, Andy.......  5|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   0|  0| 18| 0  0  0|  0
   TEAM................   |                 |   |       |  2|   |        |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Totals..............  5| 67  29 148  .257| 62|  3   6|  4| 40| 3 20  3|  0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 13.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  19  8  37  .297   Site: Santa Barbara, CA (Robertson Gymnasium)
   2  17  6  36  .306   Date: Jan 31, 2009   Attend: 351   Time: 2:20
   3  12  3  24  .375   Referees: Brant Lee, Rick Olmstead
   4  13  9  37  .108
   5   6  3  14  .214

Cougars Hit the Road--Visit UC Santa Barbara

BYU (4-3, 2-0 MPSF) hits the road to take on MPSF foe UC Santa Barbara (2-4, 0-3 MPSF) on Jan. 30-31 after winning three-straight at home in Provo. The Cougars look to remain undefeated in conference play against a Gauncho team which is winless in MPSF play.

Series Information

BYU holds a 24-15 series advantage over the Gauchos thanks mostly to a 10-match winning streak between 1998 and 2003. The Cougars have beaten the Gauchos in the last six meetings between the two schools and swept them in four of the last five. In total, 24 of the 39 decisions between the two have ended in sweeps while only twice has the competition gone to five sets. BYU has also won 19 of the last 22 meetings between the Cougars and the Gauchos--13 of those ending in sweeps.

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 live stats can be launched by clicking on the “Live Stats” link for the appropriate game.

BYU Hosts 2009 NCAA Championship

BYU will host the 2009 NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship in the Smith Fieldhouse May 7-9, 2009. Both semifinal matches will be played on Thursday, May 7, with the national championship match held on Saturday, May 9. All session tickets are available at the Marriott Center Ticket Office. The ticket office may be reached at (801) 422-BYU1 or toll-free at (800) 322-BYU1. Tickets may also be purchased at byutickets.com.

BYU will host its first national championship event since hosting the 1989 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship. Three other outdoor track championships were held at BYU in 1967, 1975 and 1982. BYU also hosted the NCAA Wrestling Championship in 1969.

Last Year Against UC Santa Barbara

March 28, 2008

Senior Ivan Perez earned his eighth double-double of the season and second in a row in a five-set win (25-30, 30-25, 29-31, 30-24, 15-11) as the No. 4 BYU men’s volleyball team hosted No. 14 UC Santa Barbara Friday at the Smith Fieldhouse.

Perez led all hitters with 27 kills and 12 digs hitting .444 on the night. Jonathan Charette, Trent Sorensen, and Russell Holmes also had 16, 15, and 14 kills, respectively, as well.

As a team the Cougars got off to a slow start, but UCSB controlled most of the first set and won 30-25. The Cougars hit well with a .343 attack percentage, but the Gauchos hit better at .485. BYU did its best to build momentum, including switching setters mid-set, but were slowed by seven service errors. Neither team was strong defensively at the net as no one recorded a block in the set. Gaucho outside hitter Jeff Menzel, who ranks fifth in the nation with 4.84 kills per set, had eight kills in the set to lead all hitters. He finished the night with 19 kills and a .088 attack percentage.

In the second set it was BYU that built an early lead that it would not relinquish and took the set 30-25. Perez came out swinging and recorded a set leading five kills with a .500 hitting percentage. However, it was the Cougar defense that dominated the set. After recording none in the first set, BYU tallied 4.0 total team blocks in the set and held UCSB to nine kills and nine attack errors for a .000 attack percentage.

The defense was lacking on both sides of the net again as UCSB won the third set 31-29. The Gauchos rolled out of the locker room to an 18-10 lead after the break, but the Cougars rallied to tie the score at 28-28. The 2,060 fans in attendance roared as BYU completed the comeback, but Patchell’s squad could not muster enough to take the lead and fell in the narrow loss. BYU hit .189 and recorded 1.0 total team block in the set to UCSB’s .256 performance and 2.0 total team blocks.

Down, but not out, the Cougars forced a fifth set with a 30-24 win in the fourth. Sophomore Reed Chilton returned to set BYU to a .441 attack percentage in the fourth set after being taken out mid-way through the first. Perez racked up seven kills on 11 swings with only one error in the set. The Cougar defense also got back on track with 5.0 total team blocks in the set.

5-0 on the year in the fifth set, BYU finished the come-from behind victory with a 15-11 win in the deciding set. The Cougars scored the first three points of the set and never lost the lead. Perez added five kills in the set to his already impressive performance, and the team hit .556 in the set.

March 29, 2008

Earning his first BYU start, redshirt freshman Jeff Robinson led the No. 4 Cougars as they swept No. 14 UC Santa Barbara 30-20, 30-28, 30-28.

Robinson recorded a match-high 18 kills hitting .517 on the night. Seniors Ivan Perez and Jonathan Charette had 12 and 11 kills, respectively. As a whole, the team recorded a .396 attack percentage.

BYU came out quick in its 30-20 first game win. Robinson put BYU on the scoreboard with a kill to start things off for the Cougars and sparked a four-point BYU run. The Cougars continued to dominate throughout the game, as Ivan Perez went 6-for-6 for a 1.000 attack percentage. With game point on the line, Robinson closed the game just as he started it, recording his third kill of the night.

The Cougars battled through a tight 30-28 win in the second game. In a set in which the score was tied 14 times, USCB recorded six team blocks compared to BYU’s one. Jonathan Charette’s kill with the score tied at 21-21 put the Cougars up for good and BYU clinched the second game on a Gaucho service error.

The third game played out much like the first, with UCSB keeping it close towards the end of the match. UCSB’s Jeff Menzel, who ranks fifth in the nation with 4.84 kills per set, recorded four kills in the final game tying the score at 27-27. BYU clinched the match on a UCSB attack error.