PROVO -- The No. 18 BYU women's volleyball team (18-2, 9-1 MWC) made short work of the visiting San Diego State Aztecs (8-14, 2-8 MWC) Saturday night in the Smith Fieldhouse as the Cougars recorded their 12th sweep of the season with a 30-20, 30-22, 30-27 win.

"I thought this was a good match for us," said BYU head coach Jason Watson. "We played particularly nice floor defense in outdigging San Diego State. We stayed very composed in game three when we could have easily let them get the better of us. I'm very pleased with the win and the weekend in general."

Junior outside hitter Chelsea Goodman led BYU with 16 kills, the 10th time she has done so this season. Erica Lott recorded her sixth double-double of the year with 14 kills and 10 digs, while Lindsy Hartsock added 12 kills on .556 hitting and Kim Wilson Sorensen added 11. Annie Kemp Pinegar led BYU with 14 digs.

Game one was tight to start as both teams battled to an early tie before the Cougars turned on the gas with a 7-0 run, thanks in part to three kills from Goodman, to take a 12-6 lead. The Aztecs fought back with three straight points of their own and then got within two at 17-15 but another BYU run, this time a 6-0 spurt, kept the game firmly in the Cougars' clutches as they cruised to a 30-20 game-one win. BYU held the Aztecs to just .026 hitting in the game while posting a .278 mark, including eight kills from Goodman.

The Cougars built on that momentum to begin game two, jumping out to a 15-7 lead midway, but SDSU stormed back with an 11-3 run to tie the game up at 18-18. However, after the two squads traded points, back-to-back kills from Wilson Sorensen sparked an 11-3 BYU tear to end the game, 30-22.

SDSU came out firing in game three, scoring four straight points to open the game until a kill from Lott got BYU on the board. The Cougars continued to struggle offensively as the game wore on while the Aztecs were red hot with six kills on eight swings to build a 12-6 lead. After SDSU increased its lead to seven points at 19-12, the Cougars started to claw their way back with a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 19-17. The Aztecs hung on, going up 23-19, until a characteristic BYU run sealed the deal for the Cougars, 30-27.

BYU will return to action next week against two in-state rivals as the Cougars take on Weber State Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse before facing Utah in Salt Lake City on Friday night.

                              Volleyball Box Score
                                  BYU Cougars
        San Diego State vs #18 BYU Cougars (Oct 21, 2006 at Provo, Utah)
    San Diego State        |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  MCMILLAN, Caitlin...  2|  2   3  12 -.083|  0|  0   1|  0|  3| 0  0  1|  0
 6  CASTILLO, Kristen...  3|  2   0   2 1.000| 18|  0   0|  0|  2| 0  0  1|  2
 7  WAHLIN, Kelley......  3|  5   1  13  .308|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  7  1|  0
 9  HELLWIG, Bailee.....  3|  1   1   9  .000|  0|  2   1|  0|  1| 0  6  0|  0
 10 DENT, Audra.........  3| 11   8  34  .088|  0|  1   2|  0|  1| 0  3  0|  0
 11 GREENE, Melanie.....  3|  9   6  27  .111|  1|  0   1|  0|  5| 0  2  0|  0
 2  LATHROP, Leah.......  3|  0   0   0  .000| 12|  1   3|  0|  2| 0  0  0|  0
 4  CURTIS, Vanessa.....  1|  1   0   1 1.000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  3  0|  0
 5  CORDEIRO, Aime......  3|  0   0   2  .000|  0|  0   2|  1| 12| 0  0  0|  0
 8  MAHAN, Lindsey......  3|  4   2  19  .105|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 1  5  0|  0
 18 FERRER, Michelle....  3|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  3| 35  21 119  .118| 32|  4  10|  1| 27| 1 26  3|  2
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 14.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1   8  7  39  .026   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  TEAM RECORDS
   2  12  5  39  .179   San Diego State..... (0) 20 22 27  8-14, 2-8 MWC
   3  15  9  41  .146   BYU Cougars......... (3) 30 30 30  18-2, 9-1 MWC
    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  GOODMAN, Chelsea....  3| 16  12  34  .118|  0|  0   2|  0|  7| 0  0  0|  0
 4  HANSEN, Ashton......  2|  2   1   4  .250|  2|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0
 7  SORENSEN, Kim.......  3| 11   4  25  .280|  0|  0   0|  0|  3| 0  1  0|  0
 10 LOTT, Erica.........  3| 14   5  27  .333|  1|  0   1|  1| 10| 0  3  0|  0
 14 HARTSOCK, Lindsy....  3| 12   2  18  .556|  0|  1   0|  0|  3| 0  2  0|  0
 15 SCHLAUDER, Amy......  3|  1   1   6  .000| 45|  0   0|  0|  7| 0  1  0|  0
 2  BEAUMONT, Janvier...  3|  0   0   0  .000|  2|  0   0|  2| 10| 0  0  0|  0
 8  VANDERSTEEN, Marisa.  1|  0   1   4 -.250|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  3  0|  0
 11 PINEGAR, Annie......  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   1|  1| 14| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  3| 56  26 118  .254| 50|  1   4|  4| 55| 0 10  0|  0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 5.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  18  8  36  .278   Site: Provo, Utah (Smith Fieldhouse)
   2  22  9  43  .302   Date: Oct 21, 2006   Attend: 1650   Time: 1h 46m
   3  16  9  39  .179   Referees: John Martin, Teri Jackson, Ryan Mortensen

PROVO -- The No. 18 BYU women's volleyball team will begin the second half of Mountain West Conference play at home this weekend, hosting UNLV on Friday night and San Diego State on Saturday night in the Smith Fieldhouse. With a 16-2 overall record and 7-1 MWC mark, the Cougars are currently in second place in the conference with one month left in the regular season.

"We're pleased with the progress we've made during the first half of the conference season," said BYU head coach Jason Watson. "The second half begins with two competitive opponents. Both UNLV and SDSU will challenge us. They play wonderful defense, which will require us to be patient offensively. I'm excited to see how our team will respond to this weekend's challenge."

The Cougars have indeed made significant progress during the first half of league play. Of the seven overall statistical categories tracked by the MWC, BYU players lead the league in four of them (hitting percentage -- Rachel Dyer; kills -- Erica Lott; assists -- Amy Schlauder; points -- Erica Lott) and are second in one other (blocks -- Lindsy Hartsock). BYU also packs one-two punches in three categories as Rachel Dyer and Lindsy Hartsock rank first and second, respectively, in hitting percentage; Erica Lott and Chelsea Goodman rank first and second, respectively, in kills; and Lott and Goodman also rank first and second, respectively, in points.

Returning to the friendly confines of the Smith Fieldhouse will be a welcome way for the Cougars to begin the stretch toward postseason play. BYU is 7-1 this season at home with an attendance average of 2,279, which ranks eighth in the nation. The Cougars began their home season hosting a Cougar women's volleyball record 4,050 fans in their win over No. 4 Stanford. BYU fans broke that record on Sept. 29 as 4,455 Cougar faithful packed the Smith Fieldhouse to see the Cougars take on in-state rival and 18th-ranked Utah. BYU is now 456-82 (.849) all-time at home and 17-1 on Elaine Michaelis Court over the last two years.

The Rebels are 14-6 so far this season including a 5-3 mark in MWC play through the first half, good enough for fourth place. UNLV is led by junior outside hitter Maria Aladjova, who is sixth in the league in kills per game at 3.77. Junior libero Jada Walker averages 5.04 digs per game, second in the league, to help the Rebels lead the MWC in that category with 19.50 dpg. Junior middle blocker Lauren Miramontes aids the UNLV defense with 1.21 blocks per game, seventh in the league. As a team, the Rebels hit .195 while allowing opponents a .168 attack efficiency. BYU swept the Rebels at UNLV in the first meeting between the two teams this season and is 19-2 all-time against UNLV.

The Aztecs are 8-12 so far this season and 2-6 in the Mountain West Conference. SDSU has three players ranked in the top 10 of the MWC in kills as all three average more than 3.0 kills per game led by Melanie Greene at 3.77. Junior libero Aime Cordeiro, who was named All-MWC last season, leads the league in digs at 5.55 per game. As a team, the Aztecs hit .206 while allowing opponents to hit .222. BYU beat SDSU in four games in the first meeting between the two teams this season and owns a 33-15 all-time record in the series.

Fans of BYU women's volleyball can catch all the action of this weekend's match via live stats or a live Internet video stream available to all BYU Cougars All-Access and/or CSTV XXL subscribers. Links for both can be found by going to the Schedule page of the BYU women's volleyball homepage at www.byucougars.com.