|
|
|
No. 20 BYU Secures Second-Place MWC Finish With Win
The Cougars will conclude the regular season Saturday night at Air Force in a 7 p.m. match.
Nov. 17, 2006 FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- The No. 20 BYU women's volleyball team wrapped up a second-place finish in the Mountain West Conference Friday night, winning a five-game thriller (23-30, 30-28, 30-28, 30-32, 15-13) at Colorado State to seal the No. 2 seed in next week's MWC Tournament. "This was an important match for us," said BYU head coach Jason Watson. "We came in here against a very good Colorado State team and once again found a way to win. It's really important for us to be playing well as we get into the final weeks of November." Both teams entered the match 11-3 in league play, but it was BYU that took control with the win, improving to 23-4 overall and 12-3 in the MWC. Including a five-game win earlier this season in Provo, the Cougars swept the season series against Colorado State this year for the first time since 1995. Game one belonged to the Rams from the first point - a kill from Mekana Barnes - to the last - a score by Ashley Fornstrom. The Cougars kept it close but never led and succumbed to a 7-2 Ram run to seal the 30-23 CSU victory. BYU struggled offensively throughout the game, hitting .176 with 11 kills and five errors on 34 attempts, while the Rams hit .364 with 20 kills and four errors on 44 swings. Senior Lindsy Hartsock got the Cougars going in game two with a kill and two blocks to give BYU an early 4-2 lead. After CSU came back to take a 7-5 lead, the two teams began a heated battle from there as they traded points with neither able to gain more than a two-point advantage. However, it was the Rams who finally broke through, pulling ahead 24-21 with a 3-0 spurt, and maintaining the three-point cushion to the 27-24 mark. But the Cougars clawed their way back, tying the score at 28-28 on a kill from Rachel Dyer and then benefiting from a Ram hitting error and another Dyer score to take game two 30-28. The third game was a momentum battle early as the Rams put together a 3-0 spurt to take a 7-5 lead and the Cougars responded with a 3-0 spurt of their own to go up 8-7. CSU kept the pressure on and gradually wore BYU down, building a 16-13 lead. But the Cougars fought back and tied the game up at 20-20 on a kill from Chelsea Goodman then went up 22-20 thanks to back-to-back to Ram errors, forcing a CSU time-out. The Rams responded out of the break, tying the game at 24-24, but could not stay with the Cougars down the stretch as BYU got kills from Dyer, Goodman, Hartsock and Erica Lott to record the 30-28 win. Perhaps sensing victory, the Cougars jumped out to an early lead in game four that eventually stretched into a 17-10 advantage. But, with their backs against the wall, the Rams put together an 8-3 run to get within two points at 20-18. However, BYU kept its composure and scored the next three points to go up 23-18, eventually getting match point at 29-27. But the Rams once again showed their resiliency, scoring the next three points to earn game point at 30-29. A CSU service error saved the Cougars on that point, but the Rams came right back with a kill to get their second game point at 31-30. The second chance was all they needed to put the game away, 32-30. Game five was a battle from the start as both teams laid everything on the line. It was BYU, however, who emerged victorious, pulling ahead 11-6 after an early 4-4 tie. CSU made things interesting towards the end, but the Cougars stuck together and pulled off the 15-13 win. "Our team was very poised in game five at a time when they could've decided to stop competing," said Watson. "But the didn't, and that characteristic bodes well for us going into the crucial final weeks of November." The Cougars will conclude the regular season Saturday night at Air Force in a 7 p.m. match. The Falcons are 3-23 this season after being swept by No. 9 Utah Friday night. The MWC Tournament will begin on Thursday with BYU playing the No. 7 seed in an early afternoon match. All of the Tournament matches can be seen on the mtn. with the championship match being broadcast on CSTV.
|
|
