PROVO -- Undefeated ... a sweet way for first year coach Jason Watson to begin the season as the Cougar women's volleyball team beat Kansas 30-27, 28-30, 30-22, 30-28, marking the first victory on Elaine Michaelis Court, a name given prior to the game in a ceremony honoring the legendary coach.

"This was a very significant win for us, especially looking at our postseason aspirations," said Watson. "Getting a win like this against a quality opponent in a great conference certainly helps us."

The Cougars were led by junior middle blocker Lindsy Hartsock who had a career-high 20 kills while hitting .633 to go along with her six blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Erica Lott added 16 kills and recorded a career high in digs with 10.

"It's exciting to get a new career high," said Hartsock. "It is a big goal for me. You always want to get better and better every time you play."

Besides a lopsided third game in which the Cougars led the entire way, each of the other games presented "down to the wire" action in which the Cougars lost only one. Game 2, which the Jayhawks stole, included 18 ties and 8 lead changes. It was the Cougar's composure that allowed them to win their third in a row. It also marked the second time this season the Cougars have beaten a team ranked higher than them as Kansas came into the match listed No. 34 while the Cougars were No. 36. BYU also defeated Nevada last weekend, who was listed No. 35

In game one, the Cougars started slow, trailing Kansas early on 9-4, but quickly found a rhythm tying the game at 15-15. After falling behind again, the Cougars found a way to take the lead again at 28-27. Sophomore outside hitter Chelsea Goodman finished off the comeback with a monster kill, giving BYU the game.

After losing game two, the Cougars never trailed in game three. Hartsock racked up five kills and, after finishing off the Jayhhawks easily 30-22, the Cougars looked to be unstoppable.

But Kansas gave it a go in game four, and after falling behind 25-19, tied the game at 26. The game stayed tied until Goodman hit a missile from the outside that was un-returnable. BYU finished the match off when the Jayhawks botched their serve.

The Cougars improved to 3-0 on the season and now prepare for a road match against the Idaho State Bengals next Wednesday in Pocatello.

                              Volleyball Box Score
                            The Automated ScoreBook
           Kansas vs Brigham Young Univ. (Sep 02, 2005 at Provo, UT)
    Kansas                 |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  CORREA, Jana........  4| 14   5  34  .265|  0|  2   4|  1|  8| 1  0  0|  0|  17.0
 7  BROWN, Emily........  4| 11   3  22  .364|  3|  1   0|  1|  7| 3  5  0|  0|  17.5
 8  CATEN, Paula........  4|  8   6  24  .083|  1|  2   3|  2|  7| 0  0  0|  0|  10.0
 9  ROZUM, Andi.........  4|  5   3  11  .182| 47|  1   3|  0| 13| 0  4  0|  0|   8.0
 10 LIMA, Josi..........  4| 11   3  38  .211|  0|  0   1|  1|  7| 0  5  0|  0|  13.5
 18 NOYES, Savannah.....  4|  9   3  17  .353|  0|  0   0|  0|  2| 0  4  0|  0|  11.0
 3  MATHEWSON, Jamie....  4|  1   1   2  .000|  1|  0   0|  4| 11| 0  0  0|  0|   1.0
 12 WITTMAN, Dani.......  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 15 HILL, Megan.........  4|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  4| 59  24 148  .236| 52|  6  13|  9| 55| 4 18  0|  0|  78.0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 13.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  15  3  35  .343   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  4  TEAM RECORDS
   2  19  5  44  .318   Kansas.............. (1) 27 30 22 28  4-1
   3  12  7  36  .139   Brigham Young Univ.. (3) 30 28 30 30  3-0
   4  13  9  33  .121
    Brigham Young Univ.    |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1  GOODMAN, Chelsea....  4| 12   4  31  .258|  1|  2   5|  1|  2| 0  1  2|  0|  14.5
 5  EVANS, Lauren.......  4|  3   1   8  .250| 62|  0   2|  0|  4| 0  9  0|  1|   7.5
 9  PATTERSON, Lexi.....  2|  0   2   8 -.250|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 10 LOTT, Erica.........  4| 16   8  42  .190|  0|  1   4|  0| 10| 1  1  0|  0|  18.5
 14 HARTSOCK, Lindsy....  4| 20   1  30  .633|  1|  5   1|  1|  3| 0  6  0|  0|  28.0
 44 DYER, Rachel........  4| 15   3  28  .429|  0|  1   4|  0|  3| 0  6  0|  0|  19.0
 2  BEAUMONT, Janvier...  4|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   2|  0|  4| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 3  EVANS, Lindsey......  4|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   0|  1|  8| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 11 KEMP, Annie.........  4|  0   0   0  .000|  2|  0   0|  3| 16| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
 13 PORTER, Bryn........  3|  6   1  11  .455|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  2  0|  0|   7.0
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  4| 72  20 158  .329| 68|  9  18|  6| 50| 1 25  2|  1|  94.5
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 13.5
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  17  6  40  .275   Site: Provo, UT (Smith Fieldhouse)
   2  18  6  44  .273   Date: Sep 02, 2005   Attend: 2135   Time: 1H 45M
   3  17  3  35  .400   Referees: DAPHNE NELSON, BRUCE GRANT, KAREN MARSHALL
   4  20  5  39  .385
                                         1   2   3   4 Total
                        Tie scores       2  18   0   1    21
                        Lead changes     1   7   0   1     9

PROVO, Utah, (Aug. 31, 2005) -- The Cougars will be making their home debut this weekend and witnessing history as the Smith Fieldhouse court is renamed to honor former BYU head coach and administrator Elaine Michaelis. The Cougars will take the Smith Fieldhouse court Thursday night against Montana State in the first match of the BYU/UVSC Invitational and then step onto the newly-dubbed Elaine Michaelis Court Friday night against Kansas after a 6:45 p.m. naming ceremony.

"Playing at home offers a different set of challenges, but our team is maturing within our systems," said BYU Head Coach Jason Watson. "This is also special weekend for our volleyball program as BYU will honor Coach Michaelis by naming the court in the Smith Fieldhouse the Elaine Michaelis Court. I can think of no better way to acknowledge her influence on volleyball at BYU and around the country. Every day, everyone associated with our program will be reminded of her legacy and the responsibility we have to continue the tradition of excellence set forth by Coach Michaelis."

A legend in women's volleyball, Michaelis retired from coaching in May 2002 ranked second all-time in Division I victories and as the overall leader among female coaches in collegiate volleyball at any level with 886 wins. Michaelis guided the BYU women's volleyball program from 1961-2002 and also served as BYU's director of women's intercollegiate athletics from 1995-2004.

"What Elaine accomplished during her career is almost unparalleled," said BYU Director of Athletics Tom Holmoe. "She built BYU into one of the elite volleyball programs in the nation while tutoring and mentoring many student-athletes and coaches during her 40 years as a coach. She is such a great person and is truly a coaching legend. With the naming of Elaine Michaelis Court, we can be inspired with a continual reminder of Elaine's great legacy."

While compiling an overall record of 886-225-5 (.792), Michaelis never suffered a losing season and finished her career with an amazing string of 28 consecutive 20-win seasons. Her teams qualified for 30 of the 33 national tournaments, including 20 of 21 NCAA tournaments. Michaelis achieved a national tournament record of 73-44 (.624), with her 1972-73 team finishing as the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women national runner-up while her 1993 squad became the first BYU team to qualify for an NCAA Final Four. Only four Division I programs played in more NCAA tournaments than BYU during Michaelis' career.

Against conference competition, Michaelis' teams were dominating, earning an incredible 356-37 (.906) record. She holds the distinction of winning the inaugural championship in each of the five leagues in which the Cougars were volleyball members, including the inaugural Mountain West Conference title in 1999 with a 13-1 league record. Overall, her teams claimed 23 conference crowns.

Under Michaelis' tutelage, 18 players earned 51 All-America awards and six players were singled out for major individual national honors, with the top award going to Mariliisa Salmi in 1986 as the Collegiate Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Year. Four athletes also earned seven Academic All-America awards.

While the excitement of honoring Michaelis will take center stage during the ceremony on Friday, BYU is also looking forward to taking care of business in the two home matches after winning a tight season-opener on the road at Nevada last weekend. The Bobcats are 2-1 in 2005 including a win over MWC-rival Wyoming while the Jayhawks are 2-0 to start the year.

"Both Montana State and Kansas are coming off successful weekends and I feel each match is important to our post-season aspirations," said Watson. "Each team is athletic, experienced and competitive. This will be another challenging weekend for our team."