Junior middle blocker Lindsy Hartsock recorded a career-high 21 kills in a five-game win over Air Force Saturday. (Photo by Mark Philbrick/BYU Photo)

COLORADO SPRINGS -- The No. 22 Cougars improved to 9-0 for the first time since 1987 Friday night with another five-game win over Mountain West Conference opponent Air Force in Colorado Springs. The victory marks the fourth straight match in which BYU has pulled out the win in the last game.

"Air Force was able to exploit some things that we need to get better at," said BYU head coach Jason Watson. "Once again I thought that we responded well being behind. Lauren Richards Evans was able to keep us in rhythm offensively during the last two games and Annie Kemp came in as the libero and steadied us."

The Cougars were once again led by junior middle blocker Lindsy Hartsock, who put down a career-high 21 kills and hit .529. Richards Evans entered the match in game two and contributed 54 assists while helping the Cougars hit .226, including a .611 mark in the fifth game. Sophomore outside hitter Chelsea Goodman also had a productive night, picking up a double-double with 20 kills and 12 digs. Kemp also added 12 digs while redshirt freshman Rachel Dyer and sophomore outside hitter Erica Lott each recorded 12 and 11 kills, respectively.

BYU hit just .083 in a 30-27 game-one loss, but quickly rebounded behind senior setter Richards Evans and Hartsock in game two, winning 30-24. However, the Cougars could not keep the momentum in their favor as Air Force jumped out to an early 12-6 lead in game three and never looked back, cruising to a 30-23 win.

Down two games to one going into game four, BYU fought off defeat in dominating fashion, stifling the Falcon offense on the way to a 30-18 win and setting up the fourth game five in as many matches for the Cougars. After getting down 5-4, the Cougars picked up four straight points to make it 8-5, but then let the Falcons get back to within one at 11-10. But it was all BYU from there as the Cougars picked up four more points to win 15-11.

After playing five of their last six matches on the road, the Cougars now return home for a matchup with in-state and MWC rival Utah on Wednesday night in the Smith Fieldhouse. BYU owns a 61-17 series advantage over the Utes but has lost the last 10 matches, dating back to 2001. Wednesday's match will begin at 7 p.m. and can be seen on BYUTV or KBYU.

"I think as we continue to progress and try to define who we are, matches like this will go a long way in helping us develop character," said Watson. "We have some work to do still but that's part of the process of getting better."

                              Volleyball Box Score
                            The Automated ScoreBook
   #22 Brigham Young Univ. vs Air Force (Sep 24, 2005 at USAF Academy, Colo.)
    Brigham Young Univ.    |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1  GOODMAN, Chelsea....  5| 20  14  48  .125|  0|  0   3|  0| 12| 0  2  0|  0
 9  PATTERSON, Lexi.....  5|  6   2  15  .267|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  1  0|  0
 11 KEMP, Annie.........  5|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   2|  1| 12| 0  0  0|  0
 14 HARTSOCK, Lindsy....  5| 21   3  34  .529|  1|  0   1|  0|  1| 0  4  0|  0
 15 SCHLAUDER, Amy......  1|  0   0   0  .000| 11|  1   0|  0|  2| 0  1  0|  0
 44 DYER, Rachel........  5| 12   7  23  .217|  1|  0   2|  0|  2| 0  5  0|  0
 2  BEAUMONT, Janvier...  5|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  2   2|  2|  3| 0  0  0|  0
 3  EVANS, Lindsey......  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  3|  8| 0  0  0|  0
 5  EVANS, Lauren.......  4|  2   2   7  .000| 54|  3   2|  0|  6| 0  4  0|  0
 10 LOTT, Erica.........  4| 11   6  23  .217|  0|  0   3|  0|  8| 0  1  0|  0
 13 PORTER, Bryn........  1|  0   3   5 -.600|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 1  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  5| 72  37 155  .226| 68|  6  15|  6| 55| 1 18  0|  0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 10.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  14 11  36  .083   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  4  5  TEAM RECORDS
   2  15  7  27  .296   Brigham Young Univ.. (3) 27 30 23 30 15  9-0, 2-0
   3  16 12  41  .098   Air Force........... (2) 30 24 30 18 11  4-12, 0-2
   4  14  5  33  .273
   5  13  2  18  .611
    Air Force              |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
 ## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1  AKERS, Brooke.......  5| 16   9  34  .206|  0|  0   0|  0|  2| 2  6  0|  0
 4  SIEFKEN, Carly......  5|  2   0   9  .222| 45|  2   2|  0| 11| 0  7  0|  0
 9  STEWART, Kristina...  5|  8   7  30  .033|  0|  0   2|  2|  6| 0  0  0|  0
 13 GALLEGOS, Rebecca...  5| 11   6  42  .119|  0|  2   2|  1|  2| 0  3  2|  0
 14 THOMAS, Briana......  5| 10   5  22  .227|  0|  0   0|  1|  1| 0  2  0|  0
 15 PETTIE, Jasamine....  5|  3   3  11  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  2  3|  0
 2  BINA, Ellen.........  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 3  ARRINGTON, Elizabeth  2|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 8  DUNN, Tara..........  1|  0   1   1-1.000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
 11 KALLABIS, Kim.......  5|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  1   5|  0|  8| 0  0  0|  0
 12 GERTON, Rebecca.....  5|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  1   3|  2|  6| 0  0  0|  0
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............  5| 50  31 149  .128| 46|  6  14|  6| 36| 2 20  5|  0
 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 12.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  11  6  32  .156   Site: USAF Academy, Colo. (Cadet East Gym)
   2  11  9  32  .062   Date: Sep 24, 2005   Attend: 191   Time: 2:13
   3  12  4  29  .276   Referees:
   4   9 11  39 -.051
   5   7  1  17  .353