Fourth-Ranked Cougars Extend Nation's Longest Homecourt Win Streak; Blank UCSD, 3-0

PROVO -- The BYU men's volleyball team picked up its fifth straight victory, improving to 12-3, 9-3 with a 3-0 win over UC San Diego on Friday. The Cougars' victory also extends the nation's longest homecourt win streak to 38 matches. The fourth-ranked Cougars made quick work of Tritons, 15-5, 15-4, 15-6, to record the 80th three-game victory in BYU volleyball history. The Cougars have won 40 of their last 68 matches by a 3-0 tilt. Friday's victory also gives BYU a full three-match lead over UCLA for second place in the MPSF Mountain Division.

"I'm very pleased with our performance this evening," BYU head coach Carl McGown said. "Sometimes it can be hard to get up for a match when the probability of winning is so high, but our guys came out with a great deal of intensity and executed very well."

11 different Cougars saw action during the match, including Cameron Van Tassell, Todd Steinert and Zach Robinson, who each recorded their first start of the season. BYU hit .467 on the night, including 59 kills on 107 swings with just nine errors. The Cougar defense held UC San Diego to just over 16 percent at the net, allowing 55 kills on 124 attempts, while forcing 35 errors. The Cougars also outblocked the Tritons, 9.5 to 4.0, including 17 BYU block assists. Sophomore Mike Wall led the Cougar effort, recording a team-leading 11 kills on 16 attempts without a single error (.688). Jaime Mayol and Casey Jennings, who saw action for the first time in three matches, each added 10 kills for the Cougars. Jennings had missed the last three matches with a sprained ankle. Steinert paced the BYU offense with 51 assists and added a match-high eight digs. Libero Brad Goldston chalked up seven digs, while Scott Bunker recorded a team-leading three blocks.

Donald Chen recorded a match-high 17 kills and for the Tritons, while teammates Zack Hite and Chris Mortimer added 15 and 10 kills, respectively.

In game one, the Cougars jumped out to an 8-2 lead before the Tritons came back to within four at 9-5 on a UCSD block. The BYU offense regrouped and went on a 6-0 run to close out the game, powered by Mayol, who recorded a game-high eight kills in a BYU, 15-5, win.

Game two was all BYU. While close at 3-2, the Cougars got big performance from Jennings, who had seven kills and Bunker, who was credited with six kills, led BYU on a 12-2 run to give the Cougars the, 15-4, win.

BYU claimed a 6-0 lead in game three before the Tritons could get on the board. Mortimer and Chen led a UCSD charge that would cut the BYU lead to 12-6, however the Cougar defense proved too dominating. BYU forced three straight Triton hitting errors to end the game, 15-6.

The Cougars will put their homecourt win streak on the line again tomorrow night, taking on MPSF foe San Diego State. Match time is slated for 7 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse.

Short Box Score (Final)
          UC San Diego vs Brigham Young (Feb 25, 2000 at Provo, Utah)
  Brigham Young def. UC San Diego 15-5,15-4,15-6
 UC San Diego ( 4-9,  0-9) (Kills-aces-blocks) - CHEN, Donald 17-0-1;
 HITE, Zack 15-0-1; MORTIMER, Chris 10-1-0; YUN, Earnest 7-0-1; FLYNN,
 Kevin 4-0-3; HOVE, Jordan 1-0-1; PERRINE, Eric 1-0-1; Totals 55-1-4.0.
 (Assists) - HOVE, Jordan 39; PERRINE, Eric 12. (Dig leaders) - HOVE,
 Jordan 7; HITE, Zack 7
 Brigham Young (12-3,  9-3) (Kills-aces-blocks) - WALL, Mike 11-0-2;
 MAYOL, Jaime 10-0-1; JENNINGS, Casey 10-0-1; ACOSTA, Joaquin 7-0-2;
 BUNKER, Scott 7-1-3; OLSEN, Matt 5-0-2; VANTASSELL, Cameron 5-1-2;
 ROBINSON, Zachary 3-0-1; WILSON, Mac 1-0-2; STEINERT, Todd 0-0-2;
 Totals 59-2-9.5. (Assists) - STEINERT, Todd 51. (Dig leaders) -
 STEINERT, Todd 8; GOLDSTON, Brad 7
  Site: Provo, Utah (Smith Fieldhouse)
  Date: Feb 25, 2000   Attend: 1831   Time: 1:35
  Referees: Tom Given, Les Calles, DJM;JDM;MA;ST;EK