By Jason Kukahiko
After winning 20 games for the 29th time in 30 years, the BYU women”s volleyball team will compete in the Mountain West Conference Championship starting today in San Diego, Calif.
“We know we can”t be satisfied at this point.” BYU coach Karen Lamb said. “Staying focused and being consistent are what we”ve been stressing and we”ll continue with that mindset.”
BYU (20-7 overall, 10-4 MWC) enters the tournament as the third seed, and will face sixth-seed Air Force (14-14, 4-10) Thursday at 2:30 p.m. MST.
“I”m pleased with the progress that our team has been making,” Lamb said. “We”re coming together at the right time and we played very well in our wins last week.”
The Cougars are the second-best hitting team in the MWC with a .258 hitting percentage and possess the most balanced attack, as eight players have recorded 100 or more kills on the season. No other MWC team has had as many players reach that mark.
Sophomore setter Lauren Richards led BYU to a .292 hitting average last week in the sweeps of UNLV and San Diego State. She dished out 11.33 assists per game and was a threat herself with eight kills on 12 attempts and no attack errors.
Defensively, BYU has been making a rapid climb up the national blocking charts. With 25 blocks last week, the Cougars bumped their season average up to 3.15 blocks per game and now rank eighth nationally. BYU has out-blocked six of its last seven opponents, and is 17-2 on the year when holding the blocking edge.
Air Force has dropped both its matches to BYU this year. The Falcons held a 2-0 lead in the first meeting between the two teams, but the Cougars stormed back and rallied for the five-game win. BYU had an easier time the second time around, with a 3-0 sweep. MWC kills leader Delavane Diaz, who averages 5.02 kills per game, leads the Falcons.
“Air Force has some talented players,” Lamb said. “Every time they play us, they seem to come out with some extra fire, so we have to match their intensity from the start.”
If the Cougars win, they will likely face regular-season champion Utah, which has won the past two MWC Tournament crowns and is 2-0 against BYU this year. The Cougars are 8-3 all time in the tournament and have won one championship, in 2000.
The Cougars vs. Falcons match-up will be broadcast live on BYUTV at 2:30 p.m. MST and shown on a tape-delayed basis on KBYU-TV at 10:30 p.m. MST.
