Record-Breaking Block Seals Win For No. 19 BYU

LARAMIE -- Less than one week after an incredible fifth-game comeback win against TCU, the No. 19 Cougars once again won in dramatic fashion as BYU defeated Wyoming in a five-game thriller (27-30, 30-18, 30-24, 23-30, 15-11) Thursday night in Laramie. With the win, the Cougars wrapped up the first half of Mountain West Conference play at 16-2 overall and 7-1 in league action.

"We really feel that we're still a work in progress, which is good for our players," said BYU head coach Jason Watson. "Once again, we found a way. It's very nice to come out of here with a win."

While the sport of volleyball is typically thought to be defined by kills and hitting percentage, it was the Cougar block that sealed the BYU victory over Wyoming as the Cougars set a BYU record for block assists in a match with 61 and posted the second-most total blocks in Cougar volleyball history with 30.5. Both marks are MWC records.

"We struggled at time offensively so it was nice that our defensive systems certainly turned things around for us," said Watson. "We were able to get on some tendencies and maintain some pressure on them. In game five when we needed it, the block was huge for us. It's been a system we've been looking to upgrade, and I think we did a wonderful job on that this evening."

In an impressive display of blocking prowess, three players posted double-digit blocks in the win as middle blocker Lindsy Hartsock and rightside hitter Erica Lott each posted 14 and middle blocker Ashton Hansen, just a redshirt freshman, notched 12. Outside hitter Kim Wilson Sorensen was just one away from double figures with nine rejections while setter Amy Schlauder added seven. All five players set career blocking marks on the night.

While the BYU block was definitely a sight to behold, the Cougar offense was not far behind as two players posted 20 or more kills on the night and one other was just two kills behind. Lott notched her fifth double-double of the season by adding 20 kills to her 14 blocks and was just one dig away from a triple-double with nine. The match was the fourth time this season she has reached the 20-kill mark. Sorensen led the BYU attack with a season-high 22 kills on .396 hitting, while outside hitter Chelsea Goodman posted her MWC-leading 12th double-double with 18 kills and 15 digs. Libero Annie Kemp Pinegar led the Cougars with a career-high 21 digs.

"We're excited that Kim (Wilson Sorensen) has found her way," said Watson. "She led us with some with rather huge kills late when we needed them, and her ability to defend and block some balls was very good this evening. Annie (Kemp Pinegar) started at the libero position and also had a very solid night. She kept us in it for a long period of time."

The Cougars got off to another slow start in game one, losing 30-27 despite a phenomenal blocking game from Lott, who posted five rejections. But BYU was able to turn things around in the second stanza as the Cougars scored the first point of the game on a block from Lott and Hartsock and never looked back. BYU led the entire game, ending with a dominating 9-0 run to seal the 30-18 win.

The momentum continued for the Cougars into game three in which BYU came out firing on all cylinders to build an incredible 15-2 lead thanks in part to .538 hitting through the first half. However, Wyoming charged back as the Cougars' hitting cooled off, getting to within four points of BYU at 28-24. But the Cougar block once again proved effective, allowing BYU to take the game 30-24.

Game four was tight throughout as BYU attempted to seal the victory and Wyoming battled to stay in the match. After an early 5-2 Cowgirl lead, neither team was able to take more than a two-point advantage until Wyoming ran off three straight points to lead 22-19. The slight lead proved enough for the Cowgirls as they put together an 8-4 run to take the game 30-23 and force the fifth and decisive period.

After Wyoming scored the first point of game five, BYU took an early 5-3 lead and managed to keep the Cowgirls at bay the rest of the way, maintaining a two-point advantage throughout the game. The Cougars eventually pulled out the 15-11 victory thanks in part to the play of Sorensen and a .556 team hitting percentage.

BYU will now return home with the chance to rest up before returning to action next Friday night against UNLV in the Smith Fieldhouse.

                              Volleyball Box Score
                                  BYU Cougars
        BYU Cougars vs Wyoming Cowgirls (Oct 12, 2006 at Laramie, Wyo.)
    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| 18  13  46  .109|  0|  0   4|  2| 15| 0  3  1|  0
 2  BEAUMONT, Janvier...  5|  0   0   1  .000|  0|  1   1|  0|  5| 0  0  0|  0
 8  VANDERSTEEN, Marisa.  1|  0   0   1  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  2  0|  0
 10 LOTT, Erica.........  5| 20  11  48  .188|  0|  1   1|  0|  9| 0 14  0|  0
 14 HARTSOCK, Lindsy....  5|  9   5  19  .211|  1|  0   0|  0|  2| 0 14  0|  0
 15 SCHLAUDER, Amy......  5|  1   3   7 -.286| 68|  0   0|  0|  6| 0  7  1|  0
 4  HANSEN, Ashton......  5|  3   1   6  .333|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0 12  0|  0
 7  SORENSEN, Kim.......  5| 22   3  48  .396|  0|  0   0|  0|  6| 0  9  1|  0
 11 PINEGAR, Annie......  5|  0   1   2 -.500|  1|  1   0|  0| 21| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  5| 73  37 178  .202| 70|  3   6|  2| 64| 0 61  3|  0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 30.5
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  19  9  43  .233   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  4  5  TEAM RECORDS
   2  15  6  34  .265   BYU Cougars......... (3) 27 30 30 23 15  16-2 (7-1 MWC)
   3  11  8  36  .083   Wyoming Cowgirls.... (2) 30 18 24 30 11  8-9 (2-5 MWC)
   4  17 13  47  .085
   5  11  1  18  .556
    Wyoming Cowgirls       |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1  MEYERS, Annie.......  5|  7   9  32 -.062|  1|  1   2|  2| 11| 0  2  0|  0
 5  SEELE, Andrea.......  5| 18   8  35  .286|  2|  0   0|  0|  3| 0  9  1|  0
 7  SMITH, Rachel.......  5| 13   9  47  .085|  1|  0   3|  0|  3| 0  4  1|  0
 9  WEISHAHN, Tasha.....  5|  3   0   7  .429| 49|  0   0|  0| 10| 0  4  1|  0
 11 LEE, Carissa........  5|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   0|  0| 11| 0  0  0|  0
 12 KENT, Nicki.........  3|  4   4  10  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 1  2  0|  0
 6  KAGARISE, Jessica...  3|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  1   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 10 HELLBAUM, Angie.....  5| 17   4  40  .325|  1|  0   1|  0|  1| 0  7  0|  0
 15 SCOTT, Lauren.......  3|  2   2   9  .000|  2|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  5  0|  0
 16 ELEY, Samantha......  5|  0   0   0  .000|  2|  0   1|  1| 17| 0  0  0|  0
 17 SRAJER, Jess........  2|  2   3   5 -.200|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  5| 66  39 185  .146| 60|  2   7|  3| 56| 1 33  3|  0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 17.5
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  17  6  41  .268   Site: Laramie, Wyo. (UniWyo Sports Cmplx)
   2  11 13  44 -.045   Date: Oct 12, 2006   Attend: 532   Time: 2:19
   3  16 14  47  .043   Referees: Marvin Hall, Chuck Ellis
   4  14  2  35  .343
   5   8  4  18  .222