MVLB–Three Sweeps in a Row

After sweeping Pepperdine last week and sweeping Pacific on Friday, the Cougars of BYU put a third sweep in a row against the Tigers of the Pacific. The three set victory was lead once again by sophomore outside hitter, Taylor Sander (#15) who ended the night with a hitting percentage of .560. He ended with 15 kills and only a single hitting error. Swinging on the right side was Robb Stowell (#13), putting up 11 kills. He came out strong tonight, also leading the team in digs with 9, and 5 blocks. Also on the outside was Josue Rivera (#6) who went with 9 kills for the night.

The first set was a good start for the Cougars. The game tied 6 times, the Tigers only took the lead once before the Cougars came out to take set one. The front row swingers performed beautifully, Taylor Sander posting half of his kills in this set. The first set ended (25-21).

Set two was a bit of a turing point for the Tigers, who kept the game close, tying it seven different times, but never taking the lead. The score broke up with a typical tie breaker from Kauliakamoa and Sander. Pacific wasn't able to tie the game up again after that, and Russ Lavaja (#5) ended the set with a rejection to a kill attempt. The final set score was 25-20.

Awoken and startled by five straight sets lost to the Cougars, the Tigers woke up and pushed the game all the way till the end. The Tigers took a huge five point lead, leaving the Cougars at zero. BYU woke up and chipped off the Tigers lead. After the score tied several times, the score tied again at 20-20. The score went back to back again, BYU reaching 25 first. However, the game wasn't over yet. The Tigers trailed only a point behind, but a crushing kill from Rusty Lavaja ended the set (26-24), calling it a night and a sweeping weekend for the Cougars.

Finally, my time has come to see the Cougars in person as they fly here to Hawaii to play agains the Warriors of UH Manoa. Unfortunately, fate has blocked off Friday's game because of my school's annual Song Contest. I'll see them on Saturday and I'm extremely excited. If you're a Cougar fan, then be at the Stan Sheriff Center at 7:00 PM HST on Friday and Saturday for the game. IMUA COUGARS.