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Cougars on the Prowl for Rebels and Aztecs
Both matches are scheduled to start at 8 p.m.
Nov. 13, 2003 PROVO, Utah - Set to engage in its final Mountain West Conference regular season matches of the season, the BYU women's volleyball team will travel to play UNLV Friday and San Diego State Saturday. Both matches are scheduled to start at 8 p.m. (MST). Currently in sole possession of third place in the MWC at 8-4, BYU (18-7 overall) will first travel to play the Rebels (11-14, 4-8), before heading to San Diego for a showdown with the fourth-place Aztecs (17-11, 7-5). After the match against SDSU Saturday, the Cougars will remain in San Diego in preparation for the MWC Tournament set to take place Thursday through Saturday on the campus of SDSU. "It's important for us to finish the season strong," BYU coach Karen Lamb said. "At this point in the season we can't have any let downs. "We'll take it one match at a time this weekend. UNLV has been hitting well, and SDSU is only one game behind us, so it's an important match for tournament seeding." BYU continues to be one of the top blocking teams in the nation, and entering this week's play it is ranked No. 11 averaging 3.08 blocks per game. As a team the Cougars have put up double-digit blocks in four of their last five games, out-blocking opponents 68-36 during that span. In MWC play, BYU is averaging a league-best 3.24 bpg and has five players averaging over 1.00 bpg. Senior libero Uila Crabbe continues to lead the conference in digs with 326 overall and a 3.54 digs per game average. Last week against Utah, Crabbe became the sixth player in BYU history to amass 1,000 career digs. She needs 43 digs to surpass Caroline Bower for fifth all-time at BYU. Offensively, the Cougars are tied as the best hitting team, hitting at a .256 clip. BYU is led by MWC Freshman of the Year candidate middle blocker Lindsy Hartsock, who has a .361 attack percentage. The most balanced offensive team in the MWC, BYU is the only team in the league with seven players with more than 100 kills. UNLV is hitting .317 over its last four matches and is led by senior outside hitter Leiana Oswald, who is one of only three players in the MWC to be averaging over 4.0 kills per game. SDSU is streaking and have won four of its last five matches. Included among the wins was a defeat of then-No. 18 San Diego last week. Senior middle blocker Megan Schauermann leads the MWC with 1.60 bpg.
"I feel positive about our team," Lamb said. "We just have to come out this weekend focused and determined to win."
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