Round of 16 Awaits BYU Volleyball

PROVO -- For the first time since 2000, the BYU women's volleyball team has advanced to the NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinals, one of only 16 teams in the nation remaining in the NCAA Championship. The Cougars will be playing Middle Tennessee State in the Round of 16 on Friday at 5 p.m. ET at Penn State University. Should BYU win, the Cougars will advance to a Regional Finals matchup on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET against either Michigan or No. 1 and third-seeded Penn State on ESPNU.

The Blue Raiders are 35-2 this season after recording a second-round upset of 11th-seeded Hawaii in the NCAA Tournament to advance to the program's first-ever Regional Semifinals. Junior rightside hitter Ashley Adams leads the team with 4.29 kills per game after posting 22 against the Rainbows. She is also second on the team with 2.44 digs per game and third at 1.13 blocks per game. Junior middle Ashley Asberry paces the Wolverines and ranks eighth in the nation hitting .412 and ranks 12 nationally with 1.50 blocks per contest, helping MTSU rank sixth and seventh, respectively, in those categories.

The Cougars advanced to the Regional Semifinals for the first time since 2000 with a first-round sweep of Ole Miss (30-27, 30-21, 30-24) and a five-game upset of sixth-seeded Washington (30-28, 28-30, 25-30, 30-22, 15-13) on the Huskies' home foor. Senior Chelsea Goodman recorded double-doubles in both matches while junior Rachel Dyer led a balanced Cougar attack with a career-high 22 kills against Washington. BYU hit .331 in the weekend, bolstered by a .708 mark from sophomore Ashton Hansen.

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