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PROVO -- BYU’s ninth-ranked men’s volleyball team recorded its second sweep in as many nights with a 3-0 win over No. 10 UC San Diego Saturday night (30-28, 30-18, 30-17). With the win the Cougars improve to 7-6 on the season and 5-3 in MPSF play.

“Our guys were hungry to come out and play this weekend,” said BYU head coach Shawn Patchell. “This team works extremely hard and is capable of great things. We’re starting a win streak and hopefully we’re getting ready to peak.”

Junior outside hitter Andrew Stewart recorded a match-high 12 kills on the night, marking his 11th night with double-digit kills so far this season. Redshirt freshman Futi Tavana added 10 kills and seven blocks. Also at middle blocker, freshman Russell Lavaja sparked in the second and third games, contributing nine kills and five blocks.

“We have really good middles in Futi and Rusty,” said Patchell. “Even though they’re young, they’re getting good experience.”

Despite hitting only .189 in the first set, BYU overcame a late six-point deficit to claim the early win and start the match 1-0. Down 28-24, junior opposite Mat Taylor helped seal the comeback with back-to-back kills as the Cougars won five consecutive points.

Lavaja led BYU in the second set with six kills, including three consecutive attacks to give his team an early 10-5 lead. Tavana recorded six kills of his own, notching back-to-back points forcing set-point. Stewart’s 10th kill of the night secured BYU’s 30-18 win.

Several UCSB receiving errors handicapped the Tritons in the third set as BYU took advantage and maintained a steady lead throughout. The Cougars clinched the overall victory with the help of sophomore Jeff Robinson, who collected a block and kill to end the match.

Up next the Cougars hit the road for two matches at Pacific on Feb. 27-28 at 7 p.m. PT. BYU’s next home match is against Long Beach State on March 20.

Volleyball Box Score
                     Brigham Young Univ. Cougar VolleyBall
            UCSD vs BYU Cougars (Feb 21, 2009 at SFH BYU PROVO UTAH)
   UCSD                   |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
8  BANNAN, Phil........  3|  0   0   0  .000| 32|  0   4|  0|  5| 0  2  3|  0
12 SPANGLER, Jason.....  2|  4   3  11  .091|  0|  0   0|  1|  1| 0  1  0|  0
13 FRITSCH, Frank......  3| 10   2  21  .381|  0|  0   3|  0|  4| 0  2  0|  0
14 EHRMAN, Will........  3|  9   4  23  .217|  0|  0   3|  1|  4| 0  3  0|  0
16 ROSS, Calvin........  2|  3   3  12  .000|  1|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  4  2|  0
18 HOUSEMAN, Gerald....  3|  4   1   8  .375|  0|  0   3|  0|  0| 0  3  0|  0
2  LESERMAN, Eric......  3|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   0|  3|  7| 0  0  0|  0
6  DAVIDSON, Joel......  2|  3   3  10  .000|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
10 SIERKS, Erik........  3|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
15 SPITSEN, Paul.......  1|  2   3   5 -.200|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
19 HEDLAND, Aaron......  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Totals..............  3| 35  19  90  .178| 35|  0  17|  5| 21| 0 15  5|  0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 7.5
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  12  7  32  .156   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  TEAM RECORDS
   2  13  3  29  .345   UCSD................ (0) 28 18 17  6-8; 2-7
   3  10  9  29  .034   BYU Cougars......... (3) 30 30 30  7-6; 5-3
   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  TUTTLE, Kent........  1|  1   2   4 -.250|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
3  CHILTON, Reed.......  1|  0   0   0  .000|  6|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  1  0|  0
5  LAVAJA, Russell.....  3|  9   2  13  .538|  1|  0   5|  0|  1| 1  4  0|  0
11 SAGERS, Kevin.......  3|  8   3  14  .357|  1|  1   4|  0|  3| 0  3  0|  0
15 STEWART, Andrew.....  3| 12   2  22  .455|  0|  0   0|  0|  5| 1  1  0|  0
17 TAVANA, Futi........  3| 10   2  19  .421|  2|  0   1|  0|  1| 2  5  0|  0
4  SILVA, Joel.........  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  7| 0  0  0|  0
7  ROBINSON, Jeff......  1|  1   0   2  .500|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  1  0|  0
8  KAULIAKAMOA, Joe....  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  1   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
10 TAYLOR, Mat.........  3|  7   3  16  .250|  0|  2   0|  0|  6| 0  4  0|  0
14 PEREZ, Yamil........  3|  0   0   0  .000| 30|  1   3|  0|  6| 1  2  0|  0
18 HIAPO, BJ...........  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Totals..............  3| 48  14  90  .378| 40|  5  13|  0| 30| 5 21  0|  0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 15.5
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  17 10  37  .189   Site: SFH BYU PROVO UTAH (EM COURT)
   2  21  3  35  .514   Date: Feb 21, 2009   Attend: 2142   Time: 1H 41M
   3  10  1  18  .500   Referees: DAPHNE NELSON, TOM GIVEN, TRENT MANO

After a month away from home, the No. 9 BYU men’s volleyball team (5-6, 3-3 MPSF) returns home to the Smith Fieldhouse where it will host No. 10 UC San Diego (6-6, 2-5 MPSF) on Friday and Saturday.

The Cougars are coming off a week break after suffering two losses at No. 5 USC on Feb. 6 & 7. BYU lost 3-1 and 3-2 at the hands of the Trojans.

The Tritons of UCSD are coming off a three-game victory over No. 11 George Mason in the championship game of the 2009 Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic on Feb. 14. UCSD took the tournament crown with game scores of 30-18, 30-21, 30-15, thanks in part to tournament MVP Will Ehrman’s 14 kill, 13 dig performance.

Series Information

The Cougars boast an undefeated, 24-0 record against UCSD, dating back to 1993. Of those 24 meetings, 18 resulted in sweeps, with the Tritons claiming only five games. No matchup between these two teams has ever gone to a fifth set. Last season BYU visited UCSD in San Diego on Jan. 11 & 12, coming away with 3-1, 3-0 victories.

Match Coverage

Both matches will be televised live on BYU-TV with Jarom Jordan calling play-by-play, Steve Vail offering analysis and Kelli Ottesen as sideline reporter.

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.

Coming Off...A Five-Set Loss at USC

The No. 9 Cougars looked to be on the verge of victory in the second and third set but eventually fell 3-2 (34-32, 33-35, 29-31, 30-23, 15-10) to No. 5 USC on Feb. 7.

Despite the loss, several players recorded career and season highs on the night in kills, hitting percentage and assists. Freshman Russell Lavaja shattered his previous career record of 6 kills, contributing 13 of the Cougars’ 79. Fellow freshman Futi Tavana also improved his career-high kills to 16. Junior Mat Taylor again lead the team with 18--the fifth time he has done so this season.