Cougars Defeat Clemson 3-0 in Season Opener

SOUTH BEND -- Senior outside hitter Melissa Layton recorded a career-high five service aces as 15th-ranked BYU defeated No. 27 Clemson 15-5, 15-7, 15-10 in the first match of the Shamrock Invitational Friday. With the win, the Cougars improved their all-time record to 9-1 against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents.

"One of our strong points was our serving," said BYU coach Elaine Michaelis. "Melissa did an especially nice job with her jump serve."

BYU succeeded in shutting down Clemson's offensive attack, holding the Tigers to a .167 hitting percentage while recording 8.5 blocks as a team. All-American middle blocker Nina Puikkonen led the way for the Cougars, tallying five block assists on the evening.

On the offensive side, sophomore Sunny Tonga led the Cougars with 10 kills and finished the match hitting .538. In addition, Puikkonen and fellow middle blocker Jackie Bundy each added seven kills.

BYU redshirt freshman setter Karina Puikkonen played well in her first career match. She recorded 31 assists, hit .375 with four kills and added two service aces.

"Karina was really steady for not having had any previous experience," Michaelis said. "She was cool and calm. She thought things through and ran a nice offense."

The Cougars continue play in the Shamrock Invitational Saturday, facing host Notre Dame. The Irish come into the match with a No. 28 national ranking.

Clemson Tigers vs BYU Cougars (Sep 01, 2000 at South Bend, Indiana)
    Clemson Tigers         |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 2  DALLAO, Kiki........  3|  3   2  13  .077|  0|  0   0|  3|  3| 0  0  0|  0
 3  BETCHER, Jessi......  3|  6   0   9  .667| 21|  0   0|  1|  3| 0  0  0|  3
 5  BYSURA, Tami........  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   1|  1|  4| 0  0  0|  0
 6  STEFFES, Jodi.......  3|  8   2  25  .240|  2|  0   2|  2|  9| 0  2  0|  0
 14 KIRTLAND, Meredith..  3|  3   4  19 -.053|  1|  0   1|  0|  4| 0  0  0|  0
 15 DALLESKA, Jackie....  2|  0   0   2  .000|  1|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  2  1|  0
 9  JENSEN, Laura.......  3|  0   0   1  .000|  1|  0   0|  0|  4| 0  0  0|  0
 10 BEASLEY, Ryane......  2|  5   1   7  .571|  0|  0   1|  3|  2| 0  1  0|  0
 11 ZORIC, Marija.......  2|  3   0   3 1.000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 13 FULLER, Lindsey.....  2|  0   3   9 -.333|  0|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  1  0|  1
 16 BERKI, Anne.........  1|  0   1   2 -.500|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  1  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  3| 28  13  90  .167| 26|  0   6| 10| 29| 0  7  1|  4
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 3.5
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1   4  2  23  .087   GAME SCORES           1  2  3  TEAM RECORDS
   2   8  6  34  .059   Clemson Tigers......  5  7 10  0-1
   3  16  5  33  .333   BYU Cougars......... 15 15 15  1-0
    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|  4   1   8  .375| 31|  3   1|  0|  3| 0  2  0|  0
 9  PUIKKONEN, Nina.....  3|  7   2  20  .250|  1|  2   2|  0|  4| 0  5  0|  0
 10 BUNDY, Jackie.......  3|  7   3  17  .235|  2|  0   2|  0|  3| 0  3  1|  0
 12 LAYTON, Melissa.....  3|  6   1  13  .385|  0|  5   3|  0|  5| 0  2  1|  0
 14 TONGA, Kalani.......  2|  5   2  13  .231|  1|  0   2|  0|  4| 0  2  0|  0
 15 TONGA, Sunny........  3| 10   3  13  .538|  1|  0   2|  0|  5| 0  3  0|  0
 2  WHITTAKER, Natalie..  1|  3   0   5  .600|  0|  0   0|  0|  3| 0  0  0|  0
 11 BARRUS, Alyssa......  1|  0   1   2 -.500|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  3| 42  13  91  .319| 36| 10  12|  0| 27| 0 17  2|  0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 8.5
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  12  4  25  .320   Site: South Bend, Indiana (Joyce Center)
   2  16  5  33  .333   Date: Sep 01, 2000   Attend: 250   Time: 2:20
   3  14  4  33  .303   Referees: John Walton, Nancy Nester
                        Shamrock Invitational