By Matthew Montague
The Cougars improved to 51-0 against Weber State Tuesday night Sept. 10 by sweeping the Wildcats in three games.
“Whatever it takes.” Coach Karen Lamb said. “We love winning, 30-26, 31-29 it”s still a win.”
For the first time this year, the Cougars won the first game of the match.
In game one, BYU had a two-point lead 20-18 and let it slip away. Weber State stormed back and tallied up six straight points to take a 24-20 lead.
The Cougars came back to tie the game at 26.
Junior setter Karina Puikkonen and junior middle blocker Carrie Bowers tag-teamed at the net with back-to-back double blocks to take a two-point lead 28-26.
Bowers had a clutch kill the very next play and the Cougars went on to win game one, 30-26.
With game two tied at five, redshirt freshman middle blocker Lexi Brown went down with a sprained right knee and never returned to the game.
“It was a team effort tonight and that is how it”s going to have to be,” Lamb said. “Lexi went down and Laura came in and filled for her.”
Junior middle blocker Laura Nielsen, younger sister of forward Eric Nielsen from the men”s basketball team, filled in for the injured Brown.
Nielsen finished the night with seven kills and a .667 attack percentage. She was not only a force at the net, but also served well.
Game two went back and forth with several lead changes and was knotted up at 21. Weber State scored the next four points and seemed to have control of the game at 25-21.
After battling back to trail by two, Bowers came through once again with a kill and then had a powerful serve that Weber State couldn”t handle that tied the game at 28.
BYU went on to win game two 31-29.
Game three was close with several lead changes, but Puikkonen ended a three-point rally from Weber State with a quick dump at the net that caught the Wildcats off guard.
From there the Cougars took a two point lead and went on to win game three 30-24.
BYU is now 3-5 and leaves Thursday morning Sept. 12 for three matches at Texas A&M.
Lamb and the players are excited for the trip.
“We”re looking forward to going to Texas,” Lamb said. “We need to play games. We need to get in a rhythm.”
BYU will face Louisiana-Lafayette, Sam Houston and Texas A&M.
