Five-Game Thriller Goes to Cougars

PROVO -- In a nearly three-hour, five-game battle, No. 19 BYU came away with the victory over TCU to improve to 14-2 on the year and 5-1 in the Mountain West Conference while the Horned Frogs fall to 14-5 and 3-3 in the MWC.

Junior outside hitter Chelsea Goodman led BYU with a career-best 27 kills to help carry the Cougars to the 27-30, 30-23, 30-26, 27-30, 15-10 victory. She hit .426 with only four errors in 54 swings.

"Chelsea was key," BYU coach Jason Watson said. "Through all of our struggles, she has been everything. She's who we look to, to spark us, lead us and make a play. Each and every night she's going up there and bringing it."

Joining Goodman on the Cougar attack was Kim Wilson Sorensen with a season-high 16 kills, Erica Lott with 12 and Lindsy Hartsock with 11. TCU had four players reach double-digit kills, let by LeMeita Smith with 19 kills.

The Cougars played their ninth straight match with at least one starter having to sit out due to injury. While Lott, who missed the last two matches, and setter Amy Schlauder, who was sidelined for eight contests, returned to the court Friday, starting middle blocker Rachel Dyer had to watch from the bench with a cast on her foot. Redshirt freshman Marisa Vandersteen made her first-ever start in the middle and recorded a personal-best six kills along with three blocks while hitting .385.

In game one, TCU broke an 11-11 tie with a 7-1 run to take control of the game. The Horned Frogs held a lead as high as seven on six occasions, but the Cougars still didn't go down easily. With TCU seemingly cruising to the win with a 28-21 lead, BYU scored six of the next seven points to cut the deficit to 29-27 before TCU scored its 30th point.

Sorensen entered the match for the first time in game two and became an important spark in the Cougar attack. With TCU up 17-16, Sorensen powered down three kills from the outside during a 6-1 Cougar run that gave BYU an advantage it would never relinquish. TCU mounted a comeback bid to get within two points, but BYU finished strong for the 30-23 triumph. Started by a rare score from the back row by Cougar defensive specialist Annie Pinegar, BYU scored six of the final seven points, including five straight to end the game.

Another big run helped BYU win game three. A running save by Goodman kept a rally alive for an eventual Cougar point, followed by a Goodman-Hartsock block for another BYU score to cap a 6-0 run that erased an 11-8 deficit. The Cougars stayed in front the rest of the way for the 30-26 victory and 2-1 game advantage. Hartsock found her offense with six kills in the game, while Sorensen stayed hot with five kills.

"Kim was big for us," Watson said. "We've been looking for her to step up and do that. This was a great night for her."

Down 10-3 in game four, BYU kept fighting to try and keep the match from going to a decisive fifth game. It appeared that goal was within reach when BYU scored three straight to take the lead 21-20. In that sequence, Goodman set a career high with her 23rd kill, followed by a straight-down Hartsock smash before Lott brought the crowd of 2,142 it its feet with a powerful kill from behind the 10-foot line. Despite the comeback and Goodman's amazing nine kills in the game, TCU would not be deterred, holding on for the 30-27 win.

TCU proved their resilience in the fifth game, running off to a 9-4 lead after an early 3-3 tie. But BYU responded, scoring three consecutive points to force a Horned Frog timeout. What happened after that was something rarely seen in rally scoring. TCU seemed ready to hold BYU at bay by scoring out of the timeout, but then the Cougars rolled off an incredible eight straight points to take the game and the match with a 15-10 triumph.

"It says a lot about our resolve and our willingness to play each point regardless of the score," Watson said. "We kept our composure and put together a very impressive run. We asked them to believe and they did."

BYU hosts New Mexico Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse.

                              Volleyball Box Score
                                  BYU Cougars
   TCU Horned Frogs vs #19 BYU Cougars (Oct 06, 2006 at Smith Fieldhouse BYU)
    TCU Horned Frogs       |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 2  EDWARDS, Kourtney...  5|  8   2  13  .462|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  5  0|  0
 5  BARRY, Loren........  5|  0   0   0  .000|  2|  0   0|  0| 10| 0  0  0|  0
 11 ALLEN, Emily........  5| 11   7  38  .105|  4|  3   1|  2|  8| 0  3  0|  2
 12 HAMPTON, Nirelle....  5|  8   3  22  .227| 53|  1   3|  0|  9| 1  4  0|  2
 17 OTTO, Lauren........  5| 12  10  37  .054|  2|  3   3|  1|  9| 1  2  0|  0
 23 VAUGHN, Anna........  5| 12   0  22  .545|  1|  2   4|  0|  2| 1  5  1|  0
 1  BLACKWOOD, Katelyn..  5|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  1   2|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0
 6  McHUGH, Gabi........  1|  0   1   1-1.000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 8  NEMETH, Agi.........  1|  1   0   2  .500|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 14 CORLEY, Calli.......  5|  0   0   1  .000|  4|  0   0|  0| 26| 0  0  0|  0
 33 SMITH, LeMeita......  5| 19  11  51  .157|  0|  0   0|  0|  2| 0  1  0|  1
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  5| 71  34 187  .198| 66| 10  13|  3| 67| 3 20  1|  5
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 13.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  19  6  40  .325   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  4  5  TEAM RECORDS
   2  14  8  41  .146   TCU Horned Frogs.... (2) 30 23 26 30 10  14-5; 3-3; MWC
   3  15 10  39  .128   BYU Cougars......... (3) 27 30 30 27 15  14-2; 5-1; MWC
   4  17  4  46  .283
   5   6  6  21  .000
    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  GOODMAN, Chelsea....  5| 27   4  54  .426|  1|  0   4|  1| 10| 0  3  0|  0
 8  VANDERSTEEN, Marisa.  5|  6   1  13  .385|  1|  0   0|  0|  3| 0  3  2|  1
 10 LOTT, Erica.........  5| 12  13  36 -.028|  0|  1   1|  3| 12| 0  4  0|  0
 13 PORTER, Bryn........  1|  0   1   4 -.250|  1|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 14 HARTSOCK, Lindsy....  5| 11   2  22  .409|  2|  0   0|  1|  2| 0  8  0|  0
 15 SCHLAUDER, Amy......  5|  1   2   7 -.143| 66|  0   1|  0|  7| 0  3  1|  2
 2  BEAUMONT, Janvier...  5|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  1   1|  3| 20| 0  0  0|  0
 7  SORENSEN, Kim.......  4| 16   3  37  .351|  0|  0   0|  2|  2| 0  1  0|  0
 11 PINEGAR, Annie......  5|  1   0   1 1.000|  0|  1   0|  0| 15| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  5| 74  26 174  .276| 71|  3   7| 10| 71| 0 22  3|  3
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 11.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  17  5  35  .343   Site: Smith Fieldhouse BYU (Elaine Michaelis)
   2  16  5  43  .256   Date: Oct 06, 2006   Attend: 2142   Time: 2H 49M
   3  15  7  35  .229   Referees: Ken Taylor, Maile Jewekes, Karen Marshall
   4  21  7  48  .292
   5   5  2  13  .231