Cougars Open Mizuno Classic With 3-0 Win Over Oral Roberts

No. 1 Stanford defeats Fairfield 3-1 in Early Match

PROVO -- A pair of sisters led the charge for BYU as the Cougars defeated Oral Roberts 3-0 in their opening match of the BYU Mizuno Classic. BYU improves to 3-1 with the 15-7, 15-8, 15-3 victory.

BYU's junior outside hitter Kalani Tonga and her sophomore sister Sunny, a rightside hitter, each recorded 13 kills to lead the way in a balanced Cougar offense. Kalani finished the match hitting .476, and Sunny added two service aces to go along with her .600 hitting percentage.

Despite an off night hitting with a 0.59 percentage, All-American Nina Puikkonen steadied the Cougar defense by recording a season-high 12 digs while also mustering 13 kills.

The Golden Eagles struggled to get things going on offense against BYU's strong block, finishing the match hitting just .060 and managing only one player with double-digit kills. The BYU defense recorded 16.5 team blocks to the ORU's five.

Even with the win, BYU coach Elaine Michaelis noted that the Cougars have room to improve. BYU allowed the Golden Eagles to hang around in the first two games before coming on strong in the third game to put the match away.

"We weren't trying to stop what they were doing as much as we were working on what we want to do," Michaelis said. "We changed our energy level and focus on the court in the third game."

The Cougars will look to carry that energy over to their next game when they meet No. 1 Stanford Friday in the Smith Fieldhouse. "I think we have the tools to give Stanford some trouble," Michaelis said. "It will just depend on who plays well."

Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles, now 1-4 on the year, will play Fairfield Friday in their second match of the Mizuno Classic.

No. 1 Stanford Tops Fairfield, 3-1

PROVO -- The top-ranked Stanford Cardinal defeated Fairfield University 3-1 in the opening game of the Mizuno Classic Thursday.

Junior outside hitter Sara Sandrik recorded 19 kills to lead the offensive attack for the Cardinal, while 6-foot-5 freshman Jennifer Harvey and sophomore Ashley Ivy tallied double-digit kills as well with 12 and 10 kills, respectively.

After falling behind 2-0, the Stags rallied to take the third game 15-12. Junior outside hitter Joanne Sanders kept Fairfield in the match with a solid offensive performance, recording 31 kills on her way to a .424 hitting percentage. But the Cardinal offense proved to be too much as Stanford closed out the match in the fourth game 15-6. Setter Lindsay Kagawa handed out 51 assists to direct the Stanford attack.

Volleyball Box Score
        Oral Roberts Univ. vs BYU Cougars (Sep 07, 2000 at BYU PROVO UT)
    Oral Roberts Univ.     |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1  MEYERSON, Kristin...  3|  1   4   8 -.375|  1|  0   2|  2|  6| 0  0  0|  0
 9  CODY, Mandi.........  3|  3   5  12 -.167|  2|  1   0|  1|  9| 0  0  0|  0
 10 MORENO, Anna........  3|  4   1   9  .333| 26|  0   1|  0|  3| 0  0  0|  0
 12 DOMINGUEZ, Patricia.  3|  6   4  21  .095|  0|  1   2|  0|  3| 1  1  0|  0
 13 SYKO, April.........  3| 10   4  37  .162|  0|  0   1|  1|  4| 2  1  0|  0
 15 MANGUM, Meredith....  3|  7   2  18  .278|  0|  0   1|  2|  5| 1  0  0|  0
 8  ENGEL, Lindsey......  1|  1   3   5 -.400|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 11 PLACKO, Ivana.......  2|  0   2   6 -.333|  0|  0   0|  0|  2| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  3| 32  25 116  .060| 29|  2   7|  6| 32| 4  2  0|  0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 5.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  15 11  42  .095   GAME SCORES           1  2  3  TEAM RECORDS
   2  12  7  44  .114   Oral Roberts Univ...  7  8  3  1 - 4
   3   5  7  30 -.067   BYU Cougars......... 15 15 15  3 - 1
    BYU Cougars            |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5  PUIKKONEN, Karina...  3|  1   1   7  .000| 48|  1   1|  0|  3| 0  4  0|  0
 9  PUIKKONEN, Nina.....  3| 13  11  34  .059|  0|  2   1|  0| 12| 0  8  0|  0
 10 BUNDY, Jackie.......  3| 10   3  18  .389|  1|  0   1|  1|  8| 0  8  2|  0
 12 LAYTON, Melissa.....  3|  7   0  13  .538|  1|  1   6|  0|  7| 0  5  0|  0
 14 TONGA, Kalani.......  3| 13   3  21  .476|  1|  0   1|  1|  4| 0  3  0|  0
 15 TONGA, Sunny........  3| 13   1  20  .600|  1|  2   3|  0|  5| 0  5  0|  0
 2  WHITTAKER, Natalie..  2|  0   1   2 -.500|  0|  0   0|  0|  5| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  3| 57  20 115  .322| 52|  6  13|  2| 44| 0 33  2|  0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 16.5
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  19  7  40  .300   Site: BYU PROVO UT (SMITH FIELD HOUSE)
   2  24  7  50  .340   Date: Sep 07, 2000   Attend: 574   Time: 1H 25M
   3  14  6  25  .320   Referees: BRUCE GRANT, TOM GIVEN, KAREN MARSHALL
                              Volleyball Box Score
     FAIRFIELD Stags vs STANFORD Cardinal (Sep 07, 2000 at BYU PROVO UTAH)
    FAIRFIELD Stags        |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  SAUNDERS, Joanne....  4| 31   6  59  .424|  2|  0   3|  0|  7| 0  4  0|  1
 5  CARLSON, Corrine....  4| 10   3  26  .269|  0|  0   1|  2| 13| 0  0  0|  0
 6  BLAKE, Sasha........  4|  1   4   9 -.333|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  6  0|  0
 8  BRANDS, Laurie......  4|  4   2  10  .200|  2|  1   2|  1|  2| 0  2  2|  0
 13 SORENSEN, Kelly.....  4|  0   0   7  .000| 47|  0   0|  0|  5| 0  1  0|  0
 14 PAUL, Conny.........  4| 11   9  35  .057|  1|  1   0|  1|  4| 1  1  0|  0
 9  OLIMPIA, Stacy......  4|  0   0   3  .000|  0|  2   1|  0| 13| 0  0  0|  1
 10 MAHAFFY, Meghan.....  4|  0   1   1-1.000|  1|  0   2|  0|  7| 1  0  0|  0
 15 GUESS, Becky........  1|  0   1   2 -.500|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  4| 57  26 152  .204| 53|  4   9|  4| 51| 2 14  2|  2
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 9.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1   6  8  20 -.100   GAME SCORES           1  2  3  4  TEAM RECORDS
   2  20  5  52  .288   FAIRFIELD Stags.....  6  8 15  6  1 -3
   3  18  6  41  .293   STANFORD Cardinal... 15 15 12 15  4 -1
   4  13  7  39  .154
    STANFORD Cardinal      |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 10 CONRAD, Tara........  4|  8   2  23  .261|  2|  2   2|  1| 10| 0  4  0|  0
 13 IVY, Ashley.........  4| 10   6  21  .190|  4|  0   0|  0|  8| 0  1  0|  0
 17 KAGAWA, Lindsay.....  4|  6   1   9  .556| 51|  1   1|  0|  4| 0  4  0|  0
 18 CHAMBERS, Michelle..  4|  8   1  23  .304|  3|  0   1|  1|  9| 0  3  0|  0
 21 HARVEY, Jennifer....  4| 12   5  27  .259|  0|  1   1|  2|  3| 0  6  0|  0
 24 SANDRIK, Sara.......  4| 19   7  39  .308|  0|  0   3|  0| 15| 0  2  1|  0
 3  ROBINSON, Anna......  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 5  LAWRENCE, Emily.....  4|  0   1   1-1.000|  0|  0   0|  0|  4| 0  0  0|  0
 7  DUKES, Sara.........  1|  3   1   5  .400|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  4| 66  24 148  .284| 60|  4   8|  4| 54| 0 20  1|  0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 10.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  11  4  22  .318   Site: BYU PROVO UTAH (SMITH FIELDHOUSE)
   2  19  6  45  .289   Date: Sep 07, 2000   Attend: 218   Time: 1h 45 m
   3  18  8  45  .222   Referees: ANNETTE COTTLE, TERRI JACKSON, KAREN MARSHALL
   4  18  6  36  .333