Metcalf's 17 Blocks Helps Cougars Down UNLV 3-2

LAS -- Behind a career-high 17 blocks by newly converted middle blocker Lindsey Metcalf, the BYU women's volleyball team clawed its way to a come-from-behind 29-31, 26-30, 30-24, 30-25, 19-17 win over UNLV Saturday night. The win improves the Cougars record to 6-9, 1-1 Mountain West Conference, while the Rebels drop to 4-11, 0-2.

"Everyone contributed tonight," BYU coach Karen Lamb said. "After we lost the first two games we bounced back and made plays when we needed them."

Playing in her second match as a middle blocker, Metcalf was especially effective against the Rebels. With middle blockers Lexi Brown and Laura Nielsen sidelined due to injury, Metcalf made the switch from outside hitter and debuted in her new position Friday against San Diego State.

The Cougars compiled 24.0 team blocks against UNLV, the fourth highest in team history, while Metcalf's 17 blocks is the fourth-best all-time mark by a BYU player.

"Lindsey had an incredible match," Lamb said. "Especially considering we had to move her to a position she had never played before."

Metcalf also racked up 13 digs for a solid defensive double-double effort and she also chipped in five kills while hitting .267. April Varner had her team-leading fifth double-double of the year in recording career-highs with 19 kills and four blocks to go with 14 digs.

The Cougars struggled to find consistency in their newly implemented 6-2 system in the early going against the Rebels, and after losing the first game and falling behind in the second, Lamb made the decision to switch back to a more conventional 5-1 system.

Although the Cougars lost the second game, they fought back to take the next two games to knot the match at 2-2.

BYU was on the brink of winning the match at 14-10 in the fifth game, but UNLV stormed back with a 5-0 run to seize the lead and stood one point from a win. Cougar senior rightside hitter Allison Larson accepted a Karina Puikkonen set, however, and took a big swing for a kill to stem the Rebel tide, and spur BYU to the win.

"Whether it was a big block or a big swing we seemed to come up with the big plays when we needed them," Lamb said.

Larson recorded her first career double-double as a Cougar with 16 kills and a career-high 10 blocks while adding a career-best four assists. Freshman outside hitter Kim Wilson set career-highs with 13 kills and nine digs. Carrie Bowers also reached double-digits in kills with 13 while also setting a career-high with two service aces.

Blair Wilkes, who had match-high with 22 kills and a .474 attack percentage, led UNLV. Patricia Assuncao and Shannon Chase also had double-digit kills for the Rebels as they recorded 14 and 15, respectively.

BYU outblocked UNLV 24.0-11.0 while out hitting the Rebels .235 to .132. The win for the Cougars marks the first time this season they have come back from a 0-2 deficit to win a match, and they improve their record in five-game matches to 2-1 on the year.

BYU will return home to host its first home conference matches of the season. The Cougars will play Air Force Friday at 7 p.m. and New Mexico Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse.

                              Volleyball Box Score
                BYU Cougars vs UNLV (Sep 28, 2002 at Las Vegas)
    BYU Cougars            |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 2  PUIKKONEN, Karina...  5|  6   6  16  .000| 50|  1   4|  0|  5| 0  5  0|  2
 3  VARNER, April.......  5| 19   4  46  .326|  2|  0   2|  3| 14| 1  3  0|  0
 6  METCALF, Lindsey....  5|  5   1  15  .267|  1|  0   2|  3| 13| 3 14  1|  0
 7  LARSON, Allison.....  5| 16   7  36  .250|  4|  0   0|  0|  3| 0 10  0|  0
 8  BOWERS, Carrie......  5| 13   6  26  .269|  0|  2   1|  0|  3| 0  5  0|  0
 15 WILSON, Kimberly....  5| 13   6  42  .167|  0|  1   1|  2|  9| 0  3  0|  0
 5  CASTILLO, Sahara....  3|  0   0   1  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  2| 0  0  0|  0
 12 CRABBE, Uila........  5|  1   0   1 1.000|  8|  2   3|  0| 13| 0  0  0|  0
 17 MAHAFFEY, Michelle..  5|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  6| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  5| 73  30 183  .235| 65|  6  13|  8| 68| 4 40  1|  2
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 24.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  15  6  39  .231   GAME SCORES           1  2  3  4  5  TEAM RECORDS
   2  15  7  34  .235   BYU Cougars......... 29 26 30 30 19  6-9,1-1 MWC
   3  19  5  40  .350   UNLV................ 31 30 24 25 17  4-11,0-2 MWC
   4  15  6  40  .225
   5   9  6  30  .100
    UNLV                   |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1  KING, Nicki.........  5|  2   1   6  .167| 57|  2   0|  1|  7| 0  0  0|  3
 3  ASSUNCAO, Patricia..  5| 14   6  34  .235|  1|  0   0|  0|  4| 2  5  0|  0
 4  OSWALD, Leiana......  4|  7  12  35 -.143|  0|  0   0|  1|  5| 0  2  0|  0
 5  CHASE, Shannon......  5| 15  12  57  .053|  1|  3   0|  1| 14| 0  2  0|  1
 7  FACHNER, Sarah......  5|  1   5  12 -.333|  1|  1   1|  0|  3| 0  3  0|  0
 11 WILKES, Blair.......  5| 22   4  38  .474|  0|  1   1|  0|  0| 1  1  0|  0
 6  MAYES, Tera.........  5|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  1   0|  0|  6| 0  0  0|  0
 10 HENDRICKS, Jodi.....  2|  4   1   9  .333|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  2  0|  0
 12 KEITH, Tarin........  2|  8   4  20  .200|  1|  0   1|  0|  7| 0  1  0|  0
 18 FRANCHINI, Nina.....  5|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  3| 13| 0  0  0|  0
 25 LEWIS, Amy..........  5|  0   0   1  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  4| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  5| 73  45 212  .132| 61|  8   3|  6| 63| 3 16  0|  4
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 11.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  17 12  46  .109   Site: Las Vegas (Cox Pavilion)
   2  19  6  44  .295   Date: Sep 28, 2002   Attend: 466   Time: 2:25
   3  16 10  47  .128   Referees: Helen McAnany, Eric Asami
   4  12 10  44  .045
   5   9  7  31  .065