Tired Cougars Suffer Second Straight Loss

PROVO -- The fourth-ranked Pepperdine men's volleyball team accomplished something on Saturday that hadn't been done in Provo in over 10 years. The Waves recorded another 3-0 victory over No. 3 BYU on Saturday (30-26, 34-32, 30-21), handing the Cougars their second straight three-game defeat at home. The last time BYU lost back-to-back three-game matches in Provo was during the 1991 season. The loss drops the Cougars to 11-5 overall and 9-5 in league play.

"When a team comes in here and beats us in six straight games, you have to concede that they are better than we are right now," BYU head coach Carl McGown said. "I just think our hopes and dreams are a little ahead of reality. We've been talking about repeating as National Champions, and how nice that would be. But, I think we need to start talking about working hard and just getting better."

Despite having three players with double-digit kills, including Mike Wall and Joaquin Acosta who had 12 each, the Cougars hit just .181 on the night. The Pepperdine defense forced 27 BYU errors and registered 17.0 blocks to the Cougars' 7.5. The Waves recorded a .395 average at the net, led by Brad Keenan who posted a match-high 13 kills.

"Pepperdine is probably the best team we have played all season," McGown said. "They passed well, hit well, blocked well and served exceptionally well -- especially in our gym. Right now, they're doing things better than anyone else. They're a very nice volleyball team."

In game one, Pepperdine jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. The Waves led by as many as seven points, holding on to a 29-22 lead late in the game. The Cougars mounted a short rally, getting to within three points at 29-26. Keenan ended the game with his fifth kill in the opening game. Both Keenan and Sean Rooney led Pepperdine with five kills each, while BYU All-American Mike Wall kept the Cougars close with a team-leading eight kills.

In game two, Pepperdine jumped out to a 4-1 lead before the Cougars climbed back in to the game. BYU went on a 4-0 run to take its first lead of the night at 10-9. The Cougars built an eventual three-point lead, looking as if they had things under control with the 27-24 lead. However, the Waves posted a 4-0 run of their own and tied things up at 28-28. The Cougars managed to hold back the Waves and had three different game-point opportunities. Tied at 32-32, Pepperdine's Fred Winters recorded his sixth kill of the game to give the Waves the serve for game point. Acosta's attempt sailed long, giving Pepperdine the come-from-behind 34-32 victory, as well as all the momentum they would need heading into the final game of the match.

Game three was all Pepperdine. The Waves got out to a quick start, posting a five-point lead. That advantage quickly turned in to a 10-point spread at 27-17 and again at 28-18. Serving for match point, Rooney's serve sailed long, giving the Cougars a slight break. Luka Slabe registered his 11th kill of the night to cut the Pepperdine lead to eight. The rally was short lived as Wall's serve failed to clear the net, giving Pepperdine the 30-21 victory.

"Often we talk about the ebbs and flows of the season," McGown added. " We've been working hard for a long time. We just got back from a tough road trip and now find ourselves in a bit of an ebb. Sometimes, as a player, you get tired and don't play very well. We're going to take a couple days off, get some rest and get back on the court on Wednesday. Hopefully we will be ready to take on Concordia and Lewis this coming weekend."

The Cougars will remain at home next week, taking on Concordia (New York) on Friday, March 8 and No. 9 Lewis on Saturday.

Pepperdine vs Brigham Young (March 2 2002 at Provo, Utah)
    #4 Pepperdine          |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  VAN REUSEN, Chris...  3|  2   1   4  .250|  2|  1   2|  0|  1| 0  7  0|  0
 5  DANIELS, Beau.......  3|  1   1   4  .000| 42|  1   3|  0|  4| 0  3  0|  3
 6  KEENAN, Brad........  3| 13   1  18  .667|  0|  1   4|  0|  1| 1  6  0|  0
 7  WINTERS, Fred.......  3|  9   3  20  .300|  0|  0   2|  0|  2| 1  4  1|  0
 10 WALKER, Lance.......  3|  7   4  12  .250|  0|  0   1|  0|  5| 0  7  0|  0
 12 ROONEY, Sean........  3| 12   2  23  .435|  0|  0   4|  0|  4| 0  3  0|  0
 4  GLEDHILL, Mike......  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0
 16 OLSON, Clint........  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  2|  6| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  3| 44  12  81  .395| 44|  3  16|  2| 24| 2 30  1|  3
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 17.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  14  2  23  .522   GAME SCORES           1  2  3  TEAM RECORDS
   2  17  8  34  .265   #4 Pepperdine....... 30 34 30  15-4, 10-2
   3  13  2  24  .458   Brigham Young....... 26 32 21  11-5, 9-5
    Brigham Young          |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 2  WALL, Mike..........  3| 12   9  32  .094|  1|  0   6|  0|  2| 0  3  0|  0
 4  ACOSTA, Joaquin.....  3| 12   4  20  .400|  0|  0   2|  1|  7| 0  2  0|  0
 6  GORNY, Chris........  3|  6   4  16  .125|  1|  0   2|  0|  1| 1  4  0|  0
 9  PAAL, Rafael........  3|  3   1   5  .400|  0|  0   4|  1|  3| 0  2  1|  0
 11 MORENO, Carlos......  3|  1   4   5 -.600| 35|  1   2|  0|  2| 0  1  0|  1
 18 SLABE, Luka.........  3| 11   5  26  .231|  0|  1   3|  0|  6| 0  1  0|  0
 1  WILTON, Mike........  3|  1   0   1 1.000|  0|  0   0|  1|  2| 0  0  0|  0
 5  PETTERSON, Casey....  2|  0   0   0  .000|  6|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 12 ALLEMAN, Jonathan...  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 17 PESSOA, Fernando....  2|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  3| 46  27 105  .181| 43|  2  19|  3| 24| 1 13  1|  1
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 7.5
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  19 10  37  .243   Site: Provo, Utah (Smith Fieldhouse)
   2  14 10  34  .118   Date: March 2 2002   Attend: 3,150   Time: 1:40
   3  13  7  34  .176   Referees: Les Calles, Burt Fuller, DJM;MRC;MBC;SB;BA