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No. 13 BYU Faces Utah State On Tuesday
Cougars play at No. 18 Utah on Friday.
Oct. 15, 2001
PROVO, Utah - BYU's 13th-ranked women's volleyball team hosts two in-state rivals this week. The 12-2 Cougars host 9-4 Utah State Tuesday at the Smith Fieldhouse before facing No. 18 Utah Friday in Salt Lake City. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday's match with Utah State will be televised on KBYU-TV, channel 11, and BYU-TV, which is available on Dish Network 500, DirectTV, and some cable systems. Kathy Aiken and forme Cougar All-American Amy Gant will describe the action. The Cougars, 12-2 and 6-1 in the Mountain West Conference, enter Tuesday's match against the Aggies with a 20-match home win streak, including a perfect 9-0 record in the Smith Fieldhouse this year. The Cougars are led by senior All-American Nina Puikkonen, who averaged five kills, three digs and two blocks per game in two victories last week. BYU moved up one spot in the AVCA/USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll with its wins over San Diego State and UNLV. After earning a top-25 ranking and advancing to the NCAA tournament last year, Utah State is off to a strong start again this season. The Aggies are 6-1 in the Big West Conference and have won five straight matches, including a win over No. 12 Pacific. Utah State is currently rated 29th nationally. All four Aggie losses have come against top-20 teams. Utah, 11-4 overall and 5-2 in the Mountain West Conference, also plays an in-state non-conference match Tuesday before hosting the Cougars Friday. The Utes host Weber State Tuesday at Crimson Court, where Utah is 8-0 this year. "We have some great volleyball teams in the state," BYU coach Elaine Michaelis said. "Utah State is playing very well and has just knocked off a very good Pacific team. Utah is always tough and this is a league game at their place, where they beat us last year. They are playing very well right now also, so this is going to be a challenging week." BYU lost to Utah State last year during the regular season before defeating the Aggies in the second round of the NCAA tournament. BYU is 45-9 against Utah State, with a 19-1 record at home against the Aggies.
BYU split two regular season matches with Utah last year, before defeating the Utes in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament. BYU's loss was in Salt Lake City - which ended a nine-match winning streak over the Utes. BYU is 60-7 all-time vs. Utah, including a 19-6 record at Crimson Court.
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