PROVO -- After taking care of business at home by sweeping Hawaii in two straight matches last weekend, BYU heads to Southern California for three consecutive road trips starting this weekend against USC. The Cougars will compete in Southern California for most of the month of March, taking on UCSB next week and Cal. State Northridge in three weeks. BYU will also have a bye week in March between the UCSB and Northridge matches. The Cougars next home matches will be Mar. 29-30 against Long Beach State.
SERIES INFORMATION
BYU has dominated the overall series with USC. The Cougars own a 20-7 overall record since BYU's first Division I season in 1990. Overall, the Cougars have won 20 out of the last 23. BYU's current 10-match winning streak over the Trojans is its second longest current winning streak (UC San Diego, 20). The last USC win was Feb. 28, 2001 in Los Angeles. BYU has won 15 of the last 16 in the series.
Along with its current 10-match winning streak, the Cougars own two separate five match winning runs. The Trojans own a four-match winning streak (after winning the first four matches between the two teams) and a two-match run.
MATCH COVERAGE
Every home match will have a free live stats feed option. The live stats feed can be accessed by visiting the men's volleyball schedule page at www.byucougars.com. The direct link is http://www.byucougars.com/Schedule.jsp?SP=201&YR=2006. The live stats can be launched by clicking on the "Live Stats" link for the appropriate game.
Also available for the second season in a row is a live video feed through CSTV All-Access. Users must subscribe to this service. More information, such as cost and direct links to the CSTV All-Access page can be found by visiting the schedule page and clicking on the "Live Video" link. USC will have live video and audio coverage of this weekend's matches. Links can be found on BYU's schedule page. The link is listed above.
LUCKY NUMBER .300
BYU is a perfect 11-0 this season in matches that they hit over .300. Conversely, the Cougars are 0-4 in matches where they hit under .300.
SEASON'S TWO BEST KILL PERFORMANCES...
The two weekend matches against Hawaii showcased BYU's two best individual kill efforts...all in the same night. On Friday evening, Yosleyder Cala set a team season high with 26 kills on .639 hitting. Not far behind him was Ivan Perez, who notched the second best team kill total with 23 while hitting .529.
HOLMES RECORD WATCH
Russell Holmes created a wall in the Saturday evening Hawaii match. In the sweep, Holmes knocked down seven block assists and a career high four block solos in just three sets. The four block solos ranks second alone all-time in BYU history. The Cougars record for block solos is five by Kevin Hambly on Feb. 29, 1992 against Ball State.
Holmes is currently second in the nation with 17 block solos. He is just five block solos away from tying the record of 22 held by co-head coach Ryan Millar.