Cougars Down Aztecs in Final Conference Match

SAN -- In the final match of regular season conference action, BYU defeated San Diego State in three straight games, 30-28, 30-27, 30-25, Saturday night in San Diego. The Cougars were led by Sunny Mahe and freshman Lauren Richards.

"This is one of the best matches this team has played this season," said BYU head coach Elaine Michaelis.

With the win, BYU improved to 18-6 overall and 10-4 in conference play. San Diego State finished regular MWC play with a 9-5 record and 15-10 overall.

The Cougars coudn't have picked a better time to polish their skills, coming off a defeat the night before in Las Vegas and preparing for the 2001 MWC Tournament in Provo, which is only five days away.

"We played with a lot of confidence tonight," Michaelis said. "We are ready for the conference tournament."

Richards, who relinquished her redshirt season in October, powered the Cougars to victory on 12 kills with a .471 attack percentage. Richard's 12 kills ties a career high which she recorded against Utah State and Weber State earlier in the season. She also contributed on defense with four blocks, including two block solos.

"Lauren played extremely well for us tonight," Michaelis said. "She hit very well, especially for a freshman."

Michaelis attributed the solid play to the Cougars defense. With 18 blocks, BYU averaged 6 blocks per game to disrupt the Aztec attack. Even when the ball made it through the Cougar frontline, BYU was quick with the digs to keep the rally alive. BYU's Natalie Whittaker led the Cougars with a match-high 15 digs on the night.

Mahe recorded 11 kills, while Nina Puikkonen finished with eight kills and eight blocks. BYU's Jackie Bundy finished with seven blocks to compliment her eight kills. Karina Puikkonen orchestrated the Cougar attack with passing, while recording 40 assists.

SDSU's Katie Magnusen finished with 14 kills for the Aztecs, while teammate Rochelle Currier supported the effort with 12 kills and four blocks.

BYU hosts the Mountain West Conference Tournament Thursday through Saturday at the Smith Fieldhouse in Provo, Utah.

Volleyball Box Score 
                            The Automated ScoreBook 
     BYU Cougars vs San Diego St Aztecs (Nov 10, 2001 at San Diego, 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|POINTS 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
2  WHITTAKER, Natalie..  3|  4   5  13 -.077|  1|  0   0|  0| 15| 0  1 0|  0|   4.5 
5  PUIKKONEN, Karina...  3|  4   0   5  .800| 40|  0   0|  0|  2| 1  4 1|  1|   7.0 
9  PUIKKONEN, Nina.....  3|  8   3  18  .278|  0|  1   1|  1|  2| 1  7 2|  0|  13.5 
10 BUNDY, Jackie.......  3|  8   5  16  .188|  2|  0   0|  2|  2| 0  7 1|  0|  11.5 
12 CRABBE, Uila........  3|  1   0   1 1.000|  0|  0   1|  0|  6| 0  0 0|  0|   1.0 
15 MAHE, Sunny.........  3| 11   4  29  .241|  1|  1   2|  1|  2| 0  7 2|  0|  15.5 
6  STEELE, Lindsey.....  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0 0|  0|   0.0 
11 RICHARDS, Lauren....  3| 12   4  17  .471|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 2  2 0|  1|  15.0 
17 MAHAFFEY, Michelle..  2|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  3| 0  0 0|  0|   0.0 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
    Totals..............  3| 48  21  99  .273| 44|  2   4|  4| 33| 4 28 6|  2|  68.0 
TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 18.0 
Game  K  E  TA   Pct 
   1  16  6  28  .357   GAME SCORES           1  2  3  TEAM RECORDS 
   2  18  7  36  .306   BYU Cougars......... 30 30 30  18-6, 10-4 MWC 
   3  14  8  35  .171   San Diego St Aztecs. 28 27 25  15-10, 9-5 MWC 
    San Diego St Aztecs    |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN 
## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
4  AKPORIAYE, NICOLE...  3|  6   5  18  .056|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 2  6 1|  0|  11.0 
5  MAGNUSON, Katie.....  3| 14   5  30  .300|  0|  0   1|  0|  4| 1  1 0|  0|  15.5 
7  CURRIER, Rochelle...  3| 12   8  24  .167|  0|  0   0|  1|  5| 0  4 0|  0|  14.0 
10 WRIGHT, Melissa.....  3|  0   0   3  .000| 43|  0   0|  0|  3| 0  2 0|  1|   1.0 
15 ANGUELOVA, Zlatina..  3|  6   5  21  .048|  0|  1   0|  0|  3| 0  4 0|  0|   9.0 
16 McPARTLAND, Aspen...  3| 10   5  21  .238|  0|  1   1|  0|  5| 0  5 0|  0|  13.5 
3  PRIVARA, Nadia......  1|  0   1   1-1.000|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  0 0|  0|   0.0 
8  GREGG, Robyn........  3|  0   2   3 -.667|  0|  2   5|  1|  4| 0  0 0|  0|   2.0 
11 SCHAUERMANN, Megan..  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0 0|  0|   0.0 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
    Totals..............  3| 48  31 121  .140| 43|  4   8|  2| 25| 3 22 1|  1|  66.0 
TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 14.0 
Game  K  E  TA   Pct 
   1  18  9  34  .265   Site: San Diego, Calif. (Peterson Gym) 
   2  16 10  45  .133   Date: Nov 10, 2001   Attend: 313   Time: 1:28 
   3  14 12  42  .048   Referees: Eric Asami, Kevin Cull