BYU Gets Revenge Win Over Northridge

NORTHRIDGE -- After slipping in the first set, No. 3 BYU came back to win the next three, taking a 27-30, 32-30, 30-28, 30-28 victory over No. 10 Cal-State Northridge.

The Cougars (16-5, 12-4 MPSF) got revenge just one night after losing to the Matadors in four games. BYU got a career performance from junior Trent Soresnsen, who knocked down 16 kills while committing no errors for an .842 hitting performance. The outside hitters got into the action as Ivan Perez led the way with 21 kills and a .389 hitting percentage. Perez was also all over the floor as he had a team-best 12 digs. Russell Holmes led the Cougars blocking with four total blocks, including two solos.

CSUN started the match like it ended Friday's by winning the tightly contested first set. With the score tied at eight, the Matadors went on a 4-1 run to build a 12-9 lead. The Cougars rallied to tie the score at 14 only to have Northridge respond by taking a 20-17 advantage. The Matadors maintained their lead and won the game on a Dan Rhodes block.

BYU also fell behind early in the second set as CSUN jumped to an early 10-8 lead. The Cougars came back with a 3-1 run behind a pair of kills by Perez and a kill by Sorensen. BYU maintained the advantage as the teams traded side outs for several points. On three separate occasions the Cougars scored consecutive points only to be matched by consecutive Northridge points as the game remained tied at 25. BYU looked to run away with the set as it reeled off a 4-2 run to give it a game point at 29-27. The Matadors came back to tie the game at 29 before BYU finished the set on a 3-1 run. Robby Stowell and Perez put down back-to-back kills to give the Cougars the game.

The momentum carried over into the fourth game for BYU as the Cougars jumped out to a big lead. Consecutive kills by Robby Stowell and Yosleyder Cala gave BYU an early 5-1 advantage. The Cougars maintained a multiple-point advantage throughout the set, extending its lead to as many as eight points on several occasions. Northridge fought back at the end of the game, cutting BYU's lead to 27-26 on a Rhodes kill. But BYU out-scored CSUN, 3-2 to finish the game with a Perez kill.

The decisive fourth set proved to be an up-and-down affair throughout. Both teams managed early two-point leads, but neither was able to extend its advantage. With the Matadors leading 23-22, the Cougars reeled off four consecutive points to take a 26-23 lead. BYU got a block from Cala and Sorensen and a Cala kill to keep its run going. BYU held onto its lead as it traded side outs down the stretch with Perez finishing Northridge off with a kill. Perez had all three game-winners on the evening.

The Cougars now return home next weekend as they host Long Beach State in a pair of matches at the Smith Fieldhouse. The matches are scheduled for Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. (MDT) evenings instead of Friday and Saturday due to LDS General Conference on Saturday.

#3 BYU Cougars vs #10 Cal State Northridge
                      (Mar 24, 2007 at Northridge, Calif.)
    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  CALA, Yosleyder.....  4| 21  12  42  .214|  0|  1   4|  0|  9| 0  1  0|  0
 7  SORENSEN, Trent.....  4| 16   0  19  .842|  0|  0   7|  0|  4| 0  2  1|  0
 8  PEREZ, Ivan.........  4| 21   7  36  .389|  1|  0   2|  2| 12| 0  1  0|  0
 11 HOLMES, Russell.....  4|  9   4  19  .263|  2|  0   4|  0|  2| 2  2  1|  0
 13 STOWELL, Robby......  4| 11   7  30  .133|  0|  0   1|  0|  6| 0  2  0|  1
 14 PEREZ, Yamil........  4|  1   2   3 -.333| 71|  0   3|  0|  4| 0  0  0|  0
 5  COX, Scott..........  3|  0   1   1-1.000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 6  SILVA, Joel.........  4|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0| 10| 0  0  0|  0
 17 STEWART, Andrew.....  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  4| 79  33 150  .307| 74|  1  21|  2| 47| 2  8  2|  1
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 6.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  19 11  38  .211   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  4  TEAM RECORDS
   2  21  6  38  .395   BYU Cougars......... (3) 27 32 30 30  16-5, 12-4
   3  19 10  39  .231   Cal State Northridge (1) 30 30 28 28  14-12, 8-9
   4  20  6  35  .400
    Cal State Northridge   |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1  Kneubuhl, Isaac.....  4|  6   4  20  .100|  0|  0   4|  1|  8| 0  1  0|  0
 2  Pedersen, Sean......  4|  0   2   2-1.000| 47|  0   4|  0|  3| 1  2  1|  1
 3  Lischer, James......  4| 15   3  23  .522|  0|  0   0|  0|  2| 1  3  1|  1
 5  Waite, Kyle.........  4|  1   0   5  .200|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  4  0|  0
 7  Rhodes, Dan.........  4| 20   3  43  .395|  0|  0   5|  0|  3| 1  1  1|  0
 14 Vance, Eric.........  4| 16   4  33  .364|  0|  2   3|  0|  6| 0  2  0|  0
 6  Carter, Sean........  4|  0   0   0  .000|  2|  0   0|  0|  7| 0  0  0|  0
 9  Bluemling, Travis...  2|  0   0   0  .000|  9|  0   0|  0|  3| 1  1  0|  0
 10 McKniff, Kevin......  2|  1   0   4  .250|  0|  0   2|  0|  0| 1  2  0|  0
 11 Gaudino, Mike.......  1|  0   1   1-1.000|  0|  0   1|  0|  1| 0  2  0|  0
 15 Adams, Ryan.........  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  4| 59  17 131  .321| 58|  2  19|  1| 34| 5 18  3|  2
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 14.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  16  2  33  .424   Site: Northridge, Calif. (The Matadome)
   2  16  5  31  .355   Date: Mar 24, 2007   Attend: 708   Time: 2:12
   3  13  7  36  .167   Referees: Marvin Hall, Rick Olmstead
   4  14  3  31  .355