PROVO -- Mountain West Conference Player of the Year Nina Puikkonen led top-seeded BYU to the 3-0 (15-1, 15-0, 15-9) semifinal victory over New Mexico today in the Mountain West Conference Volleyball Championship Tournament at the Smith Fieldhouse.
Puikkonen, a sophomore middle blocker, led all players with 10 kills in the match. She also finished with a .533 hitting percentage and four blocks.
The Cougars jumped on the Lobos early winning game one 15-1 on .563 hitting while holding New Mexico's hitting percentage to --.150.
The momentum that BYU gained in the first game was intensified in the second as the Cougars blanked the Lobos 15-0 while hitting .800 as a team. Five BYU players finished the night with a hitting percentage over .500. The Cougars had only six hitting errors in the match and finished with a .466 team attack percentage.
The win by the Cougars, which took 55 minutes, set up a final match with second seeded Colorado State in Saturday's final. The match was the second of the tournament for BYU that took less than an hour to complete. BYU defeated Wyoming in its quarterfinal match Wednesday in 55 minutes as well.
The Lobos reached the semifinal match after upsetting fourth-seeded Air Force 3-2 Wednesday. Amber Smith led the Lobos with five kills. Janelle Torres helped New Mexico by finishing with a match-high 8 digs.
The final will be played Saturday at the Smith Fieldhouse in Provo, Utah, at 4 p.m. BYU, ranked No. 9 in the nation, and No. 12 Colorado State split their season series with each team winning on their home floor.
Quote Sheet
New Mexico vs. BYU
New Mexico Coach Laurel Brassey Iverson:
"We're real proud of this team. We came in here tonight as the only team to beat a higher seed. I'm real proud of them to get to this match when nobody expected us to be here. I'm not, however, satisfied with our performance. We really wanted to do better."
"You have to give BYU a lot of credit. They were on tonight. We just didn't serve well tonight, which has been our strength over the last part of the season. We really expected to put up a better fight. I'm not so disappointed with the outcome as I am with our performance."
On BYU: "Of each of our three matches this season, this was the best I've seen them. When they get the momentum, it's hard to turn it off."
On Game Three: "I thought we came out with more enthusiasm. Elaine (Michaelis) switched their setter, which gave us a chance to get something going. I thought that was very kind."
New Mexico Outside Hitter Amber Smith:
"I felt with all my heart we could beat BYU tonight. It wasn't too long ago when this team had reached rock bottom. Throughout the year, we have all pulled together. We've taken steps to being a better team and better people. That's what this is all about."
BYU Coach Elaine Michaelis:
"Our goal is to progress every match. And I think we played better tonight than we did on Wednesday (vs.Wyoming). Everyone played at an extremely high level tonight."
"We will have to play at a high level tomorrow against Colorado State, no question about it. But I have confidence that our team will rise to that level."
On Colorado State: "CSU's middles are dangerous. We will have to serve strong to get them out of their system. It will be a great defensive match. I think it will come down to who can block and play defense."
BYU Outside Hitter Caroline Bower:
About playing Colorado State: "We're excited to play Colorado State. It's a chance to progress and see where our strengths and weaknesses are. My concern is that we pass well. When we pass well, we are hard to stop."
BYU Middle Blocker Jackie Bundy:
"I don't think we have been tested as much as Colorado State (in this tournament), but I like how we have played well -- no matter the competition.:
BYU Middle Blocker Melissa Layton:
"Obviously Colorado State is the best team in our conference, along with us, so we are very excited to play them."
Volleyball Box ScoreNew Mexico vs BYU (Nov 26, 1999 at BYU PROVO UT)
New Mexico | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN
## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 TORRES, Janelle..... 3| 0 2 4 -.500| 16| 0 1| 0| 8| 0 0 0| 3
2 CONLEY, Micaela..... 3| 4 6 19 -.105| 0| 0 0| 1| 2| 0 0 0| 0
4 GOFFARD, Jessie..... 3| 3 3 10 .000| 0| 0 2| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0
7 SMITH, Amber........ 3| 5 7 15 -.133| 0| 0 3| 0| 3| 0 1 0| 0
10 BURNS, Blaire....... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 3| 0 0 0| 0
12 SANSONI, Erika...... 3| 2 1 8 .125| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 1 0| 0
3 PINTABONA, Tanya.... 1| 0 0 1 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0
6 SHIELDS, Vanessa.... 3| 3 5 14 -.143| 0| 0 1| 0| 0| 1 0 0| 0
8 LEE, Elisha......... 1| 1 0 2 .500| 0| 0 0| 0| 1| 0 0 0| 0
9 GRIFFIN, Kelly...... 1| 0 0 1 .000| 1| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0
13 ALLISON, Nana....... 3| 0 0 1 .000| 0| 0 2| 2| 2| 0 0 0| 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals.............. 3| 18 24 75 -.080| 17| 0 9| 3| 19| 1 2 0| 3
TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 2.0
Game K E TA Pct
1 5 8 20 -.150 GAME SCORES 1 2 3 TEAM RECORDS
2 3 10 21 -.333 New Mexico.......... 1 0 9 11-22 5-9
3 10 6 34 .118 BYU................. 15 15 15 26-3 13-1
BYU | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN
## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 WHITTAKER, Natalie.. 3| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 3| 0| 2| 0 0 0| 0
3 SMITH, Anna-Lena.... 3| 2 0 4 .500| 22| 2 0| 0| 7| 0 1 0| 0
8 BOWER, Caroline..... 3| 4 0 5 .800| 0| 1 1| 0| 6| 0 1 0| 0
9 PUIKKONEN, Nina..... 3| 10 2 15 .533| 0| 0 1| 0| 3| 2 2 1| 0
10 BUNDY, Jackie....... 3| 7 3 15 .267| 2| 0 1| 0| 2| 0 4 1| 0
12 LAYTON, Melissa..... 3| 3 1 7 .286| 1| 0 4| 0| 4| 0 6 0| 0
7 BRINTON, Martha..... 1| 0 0 0 .000| 4| 0 0| 0| 1| 0 0 0| 1
14 CARPENTER, Mari..... 2| 5 0 8 .625| 0| 0 0| 0| 1| 0 1 0| 0
15 TONGA, Sunny........ 1| 2 0 4 .500| 0| 0 0| 0| 1| 0 1 0| 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals.............. 3| 33 6 58 .466| 29| 3 10| 0| 27| 2 16 2| 1
TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 10.0
Game K E TA Pct
1 11 2 16 .563 Site: BYU PROVO UT (SMITH FIELDHOUSE)
2 12 0 15 .800 Date: Nov 26, 1999 Attend: Time: 0:55
3 10 4 27 .222 Referees: PATSY MALTA, TOM GIVEN, GINA ACKER
PROVO -- After opening the conference tournament with a 3-0 win over Wyoming Wednesday, BYU advances to the semifinal round to face No. 5-seed New Mexico Friday at 7 p.m. The match will be televised live on KBYU, channel 11. The Lobos advanced to the semi-final after upsetting No. 4-seed Air Force, 3-2 in the opening round. Utah and Colorado State start play Friday in the other semifinal at 4:30 p.m. The winners will play Saturday at 4 p.m. in the championship match, which will be televised on KBYU.
A Quick Look at the Cougars
BYU has won 11 straight matches and 19 of its last 20. The Cougars won 39 of their 43 games during the Mountain West Conference regular season on the way to a 13-1 record and regular season title. With BYU's third 3-0 win over Wyoming Wednesday, the Cougars have won 18 of their 25 matches in three games. All three losses this year have also been in three games (Michigan, Stanford, Colorado State). The Cougars are 4-0 in four-game matches and 3-0 in five-game contests. After last weekend's 3-1 win over Colorado State to finish the regulars season, BYU moved up one spot in the USA Today/AVCA Division I Coaches Poll to No. 9. With its win Wednesday, BYU has reached the 25-win plateau for the fourth straight year and the ninth time in the last 10 years (1995- 21-9 record). BYU has never had a losing season and has won 20 or more matches in each of the last 26 seasons (1973-74 - 18-3 record).
BYU Defeats Wyoming 3-0
It took just over 55 minutes for BYU to handle No. 8-seed Wyoming Wednesday in its Mountain West Conference Tournament opener. MWC Player of the Year Nina Puikkonen led all hitters with a .669 attack percentage ash she put away 12 kills in 18 attempts without an error. Jackie Bundy drilled 13 kills with only two errors in 17 attempts to hit .667. Also in double figures was first-team all-conference selection Caroline Bower, who had 11 kills while hitting .308. Wyoming was led by freshman Michele Keller's .267 attack percentage and six kills. Wyoming's first-team all-conference player, Melody Friehauf was held to three kills in 14 attempts.
A Quick Look at the Lobos
New Mexico enters the match with an 11-21 overall record, including a 5-9 conference mark and No. 5 seed in the tournament. The Lobos upset No. 4 Air Force in its opening match Wednesday, 15-13, 15-1, 9-15, 13-15, 15-6. The Lobos are led by led by Amber Smith, who averages 3.53 kills and 2.38 digs per game.
Series with UNM
This will be BYU's 53nd meeting with New Mexico. The Cougars have a 45-7 series record with the Lobos, dating back to 1970. BYU has a nine-match winning streak, with the Lobos last victory taking place in Provo, 3-0, in 1995. BYU won both meetings this year by 3-0 counts.
This Year vs. the Lobos
PROVO -- Behind the strong jump serving of junior Melissa Layton the 11th-ranked BYU women's volleyball team defeated New Mexico 15-2, 15-6, 15-12 at the Smith Fieldhouse. Layton, a middle blocker, set a career-high with six service aces. She tied her previous best of four in the first game. Layton was one of 11 Cougars that saw action against the Lobos. The Cougars finished the night hitting .364 as a team, including a game two that saw the Cougars hit .692. Sophomore middle blocker Nina Puikkonen led the Cougars with 14 kills and a .550 hitting percentage. Sophomore Jackie Bundy added 10 kills while All-American setter Anna-Lena Smith finished with 29 assists in just two games.
ALBUQUERQUE -- Playing what coach Elaine Michaelis called her team's best effort of the year, BYU's 11th-ranked women's volleyball team defeated New Mexico, 15-8, 15-1, 15-8, o improve to 9-2 overall and 2-0 in Mountain West Conference play. Senior Caroline Bower led the attack for the Cougars, knocking down 15 kills while hitting .542. She also was a key defensive force with eight digs and five blocks. Sophomore Nina Puikkonen added 11 kills and eight blocks while All-American setter Anna-Lena Smith tossed up 42 assists and had a match-high 10 digs. New Mexico, which fell to 5-13 overall and 0-2 in the Mountain West, was held to a .073 attack percentage as the Cougars dominated at the net with 15 team blocks to the Lobos three. The Cougars hit .404 for the match, including .571 in the second game when they only made one error. Freshman Sunny Tonga took advantage of her opportunities, recording six kills in seven attempts in one game of action.
