PROVO -- Four members of the BYU men's volleyball team received All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation honors Monday, three being named to the second team and one to the honorable mention list.
Victor Batista, Michael Burke and Ivan Perez were all named to the second team while Rob Neilson was given honorable mention status. The 2005 season marks the sixth-straight year BYU has placed at least four student athletes on All-MPSF teams. The Cougars had six players honored in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2004, five in 2003 and four in 2002 and 2005.
"It's an honor to have that many people recognized," BYU coach Tom Peterson said. "It's a tribute to our whole team because no one was above anyone else. It was a collective effort. Our team had success because everyone contributed. We won and lost as a team."
"The other people around are starting to recognize that BYU is becoming one of the powerhouses in men's volleyball," Peterson said. "Our players are getting recognized more and more every year."
Batista, Burke, Neilson and Perez played major roles in helping BYU finish 20-10 overall and 15-7 in the MPSF. It was the fourth-consecutive season the Cougars have won 20 or more matches.
For Burke, it was his fourth All-MPSF honor in three seasons. As a sophomore in 2003, his first season with the club, he was named All-MPSF Honorable Mention and was an All-MPSF Academic selection. He followed that up by being named to the All-MPSF Third Team in 2004 as he helped the Cougars win the MPSF regular season and the post-season tournament. This season, he hit a team-high .460 and averaged 2.52 kills per game. He was tenth in the nation in blocks per game (1.35) and third in MPSF play at 1.39.
"I didn't realize it was his fourth honor and that doesn't happen to many people," Peterson said. "That's a real tribute to Mike. To have not played organized high school volleyball and to get to where he is as an athlete and a student is a great compliment."
Batista garnered his second All-MPSF honor in as many seasons, having been named All-MPSF Honorable Mention in 2004 as a middle blocker. This season he was name as an outside hitter after averaging 3.45 kills per game, hitting .338 in MPSF play and finishing eighth in the league in aces per game at .390.
Perez finished the season as one of the top freshman in the league and in the country. In MPSF play, he was seventh in kills per game at 4.08 and was tenth in aces per game at .324. He set the BYU record for most kills by a freshman with 382, surpassing Cougar-great Ossie Antonetti, who had 380 in 1996.
Neilson stepped into the starting setter role and guided the BYU offense to a .309 hitting percentage during conference play. Not only was he one of the top setters, finishing with the third best assists per game average in the MPSF at 13.17, he proved to be one of the best all-around players for the Cougars. He finished tied for second on the team with a 0.95 blocks per game average and was fourth in digs per game at 1.18.
To view the complete list of MPSF honorees, visit the MPSF Web site at www.mspsports.org.