BYU Provo Sports: MVLB–Cougars Sweep the Warriors

(I'm not sure who the little Japanese kid is)

I finally got to watch the Cougars play and the best part of it was that the game was an easy three set sweep. That, and I got to sit literally right behind the BYU bench. The Cougars were lead on the offense by none other than sophomore All-American, Taylor Sander (#15) with 18 kills. Futi Tavana (#17) lead the defense on the net with seven blocks, one which he blocked with his face. Sander also had four service aces, all which happened in the first set.

The game started easily and the Warriors weren't playing the neatest volleyball. Then, the rest of the set was the other five on the court could sit down as a major 10 point streak was lead by Taylor Sander, who camped on the service line. On a personal note, I don't ever want to be in the back row when he's serving because his serves are a lot more scarier than they look on T.V. Sander had four aces in the streak, and Hawaii called three timeouts while he was serving. The Cougars took set one, 25-14.

Set number two looked even crazier when the Cougars were on the other side. The Warriors woke up in this set and fought against swings and blocks, but it wasn't quite enough to win the set. The best part about this one was when Steve Hunt, outside hitter got a little cocky and broke Futi's block, then pointed to the ground. The very next play consisted of a facial block from Futi against Hunt that gave the Cougars a point. Futi then looked at Hunt and pointed to the ground. If any colleges are reading this, a quick tip, don't think that you can make Futi mad and get away with it. The second set went in favor of the Cougars, 29-27.

The third set concluded the match and was won by the Cougars. Hawai‘i came off to a good start, 3-0, but the Cougars came back to a four point run. The Cougars came off of an amazing run that followed a smashing kill from Futi Tavana. The Cougars swept the Warriors and stay on the road for Long Beach State.

Here are the pictures from that night that I took.