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No. 21 BYU Volleyball Makes Short Work of Nevada
Erica Lott and Chelsea Goodman recorded 13 and 12 kills, respectively.
Nov. 9, 2006 PROVO, Utah - The No. 21 Cougars stepped out of Mountain West Conference play Thursday night to dispatch the Nevada Wolf Pack, 30-24, 30-24, 30-15, in the Smith Fieldhouse. The three-game victory is BYU's 15th sweep of the season and improved the Cougars to 21-4 on the year while dropping Nevada to 15-11. "It was good for us to put together a match as good as this one this last in the season," said BYU head coach Jason Watson. "We were able to distribute the ball evenly, which is difficult to defend." BYU was led by the dynamic duo of Erica Lott and Chelsea Goodman, who recorded 13 and 12 kills, respectively. Lindsy Hartsock also posted double-digit kills with 10. Annie Pinegar led the Cougar digging effort with 14, while Rachel Dyer paced the BYU block with six. As a team, BYU hit .255 in the match, led by Hartsock at .400, while holding Nevada to just a .085 efficiency mark. The Cougars struggled early to overcome errors but still managed to grab a 9-6 lead thanks to a 6-1 run. The Wolf Pack kept it tight from there, finally knotting the score at 14-14 on the strength of a 4-0 spurt. Nevada continued to hang around for the next seven points until BYU turned up the heat and steamed to a 28-21 lead, featuring three kills from Lott, who put down six kills on nine swings in the game. The Wolf Pack responded with three straight points of its own but could not make up the deficit, falling 30-24. Game two began as a battle with neither team able to gain more than a two-point advantage. With the score tied at 7-7, Goodman recorded two kills sandwiched around a Wolf Pack hitting error to spark an 8-3 lead that would put the Cougars up 15-10. Nevada fought back with three straight points but would come no closer as BYU cruised from there. Facing game point at 29-19, Nevada attempted to climb back with five straight points, but the rally was not to be as a double-hit was called on the Wolf Pack to end the game. The third game saw more of the same as an early battle gave way to a BYU lead halfway through. Nevada was within two at 10-8 but could not overtake the high-powered Cougar offense that put together a dominating 20-7 run to end the game and seal the sweep. BYU (21-4, 10-3 MWC) will celebrate Senior Night on Saturday in the Smith Fieldhouse as the Cougars take on the Wyoming Cowgirls (11-12, 5-7 MWC) in their last home match of the year. The 7 p.m. contest will feature pregame festivities honoring BYU's two seniors - Lindsy Hartsock and Kim Sorensen.
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