MVLB–Cougars Wipe Out the Waves

With a victory last night and the return of Taylor Sander (#15), the Cougars of BYU came out even stronger to take another victory against the Pepperdine Waves in three straight sets. "Anytime we get a block, it's huge, and the crowd goes wild," commented Sander, "We're one of the best blocking teams in the nation. That really helps our momentum and helps our energy throughout the game, and especially tonight." And right, Sander was, because with a few Empire State Buildings up on the net to block, even Maurice Torres had a hard time catching up. Sander lead offensively with 14 kills on the night. On his opposite side was senior opposite Robb Stowell (#13) with eight crushing kills, while Josue Rivera (#6), Futi Tavana (#17), and Russ Lavaja (#5) all matched up to 7 kills. Lavaja also lead blocks for the night, rejecting 6 of the Waves' hits.


Set one started off with the Waves scoring the first point, until the Cougars took control and ran away. Pepperdine still had their share of kills, however, service error after service error would cost them the loss of set one, the final score, 25-22.


The Waves picked themselves up, somewhat, to run a little further than last time, taking the lead in the beginning. At about midpoint, the Cougars finally gained a lead in the set. Setter Joe Kauliakamoa (#8) took this set a little further and destroyed the Waves with a few dumps and even kills, one of them to end set number two, final score, 25-23.


 With the Cougar fans up on their feet, dying to see their first sweep at home, the momentum in the air spread through the players, who were drinking and living off of cheers coming from the crowd. Rivera and Tavana lead behind an early four point lead, but after a time out, the Waves rolled back up to shore to take a single point lead. Without any mercy behind the ball, Sander sent a ball straight to the ground, nearly denting the gym floor. With the crowd in the air and off their feet, the Cougars battled against the rebellion of Pepperdine, dying to taste the victory of a set for the night. Again, with no mercy, the Cougars ran away with a five point lead to snatch the third set, therefore sweeping the match.


Don't miss the next game at the Fieldhouse, against No. 11 Pacific at 7:00 P.M. MDT, 4:00 P.M. HST. GO COUGARS!!!