By Brent Hinckley
Despite two losses to Pepperdine last weekend, the men”s volleyball team feels it is still in a pretty good situation as the end of the season draws near.
Coach Carl McGown said the team is in a lull following its losses last weekend. He gave the team two days off before getting back to the court on Wednesday.
Some of the players were relieved to have a bit of a break during the middle of the season
“It”s been awesome,” sophomore middle blocker Chris Gorny said. “I was starting to not like playing volleyball very much. Now, I”m ready to get back out there and play. It”s fun again. It has given us some time to heal up and get back to full speed.”
Senior outside hitter Joaquin Acosta believes the break helped the team refocus, but he said the team”s chemistry is not where it should be.
“Our goal is still to win the National Championship,” he said. “But right now we just need to work hard and get better as a team.”
The Cougars host Concordia and Lewis Universities this weekend. The Concordia Clippers (7-8 overall, 5-5 conf.) are coming off a 4-game loss to George Mason University. The Clippers are led by outside hitter Diego Escobar. He was named the EIVA Co-player of the week on Wednesday for 53 kills and 8 blocks in the previous two matches.
BYU is 1-0 all-time against the Clippers. Friday”s match begins at 7 p.m.
Due to a women”s gymnastics meet scheduled for Saturday night, the Cougars will take on the Lewis Flyers Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
McGown said playing the two matches so close to each other may not have any physical effects on the team, but he believes there are psychological effects.
No. 9 Lewis has earned wins over Stanford, Pacific, and took No. 2 Hawaii to a five-game match before eventually falling to the Warriors. On Wednesday, the Flyers fell to No. 1 UCLA in straight games.
“The Flyers are a much better team then what their ranking shows,” Acosta said.
Lewis is 12-5 on the season and is led by sophomore outside hitter Fabiano Barreto. Barreto was named this week”s MIVA conference player of the week.
The Cougars are 4-0 all-time against Lewis with all four victories coming in the Smith Fieldhouse.
