BYU Gets First Postseason Win Since 2004

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PROVO -- After taking an early exit from the postseason the past two seasons, No. 2 BYU coasted to a 30-26, 30-28, 30-26 sweep over No. 7 Cal-State Northridge in the MPSF quarterfinals.

The Cougars improve to 23-5 on the season with the victory while the Matadors finish their season with an 18-15 record.

"The guys were picking each other up tonight," co-head coach Ryan Millar said. "They showed a lot of heart tonight."

Yosleyder Cala led the way for BYU, knocking down 16 kills while hitting .464 (16-3-28). Robby Stowell added 14 kills while hitting at a .360 clip. The Cougars hit .370 as a team while CSUN hit .221. Eric Vance and Dan Rhodes led the Matadors with 15 kills apiece.

BYU got out to a quick start in the first set, jumping out to a 6-1 lead courtesy of a pair of Cougar service aces and early attack errors by the Matadors. CSUN responded, going on a 5-1 capped by an ace by Sean Pedersen to cut the Cougars lead to 10-8. BYU responded with a 5-1 run of its own as the Cougars pulled ahead. Northridge never led in the first set as BYU hit .333 while the Matadors swung at a .189 clip. Cala led the Cougars with eight kills in the opening game while Eric Vance had six for CSUN.

After jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the second set, BYU held on to the lead throughout as the two teams traded side outs. With the Cougars holding to a 16-13 lead, Northridge went on a 6-1 run to take its first lead of the match at 17-16. The Matadors extended their lead to three at 25-22 on a BYU blocking error. The Cougars responded with a 4-1 run capped by a Yamil Perez ace to tie the set at 26. After tying the game, BYU added two points on a Northridge hitting error and a second Perez ace. The Cougars were then able to trade side outs to hold on to the set with a Cala kill capping the game.

In the third set BYU got off to another quick start, jumping to an 11-5 lead. The Matadors fought back, going on a 9-4 run to cut the Cougars' lead to one and forcing a BYU timeout.

"We needed a timeout to regroup," co-head coach Shawn Patchell said. "We needed to get the energy back. The team really came together."

BYU came back with a 6-1 run to build a comfortable 21-15 advantage. The six-point advantage was won that the Cougars wouldn't relinquish. BYU held on to finish the match after CSUN made a small run.

The Cougars will now travel to Malibu, Calif. next Thursday to play in the semifinals against third-seeded UC Irvine. The match will start upon conclusion of the first semifinal match at approximately 8 p.m. (PDT)

The Automated ScoreBook

#7 Cal State Northridge vs #2 BYU Cougars (Apr 21, 2007 at Provo, Utah)

Cal State Northridge | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN

## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE

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2 Pedersen, Sean...... 3| 1 1 5 .000| 39| 1 5| 0| 7| 0 2 0| 0

3 Lischer, James...... 3| 8 0 15 .533| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 2 2 1| 0

5 Waite, Kyle......... 2| 2 1 4 .250| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 1 1 0| 0

7 Rhodes, Dan......... 3| 15 10 34 .147| 1| 3 2| 3| 6| 0 0 0| 0

11 Gaudino, Mike....... 3| 0 1 4 -.250| 0| 0 3| 2| 1| 1 1 0| 0

14 Vance, Eric......... 3| 15 5 38 .263| 0| 0 5| 0| 2| 0 0 0| 0

1 Kneubuhl, Isaac..... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 1| 0 0| 2| 6| 0 0 0| 0

6 Carter, Sean........ 3| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 2| 0 0 0| 0

10 McKniff, Kevin...... 1| 1 1 4 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0

15 Adams, Ryan......... 2| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0

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Totals.............. 3| 42 19 104 .221| 41| 4 15| 7| 24| 4 6 1| 0

TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 7.0

Game K E TA Pct

1 14 7 37 .189 GAME SCORES 1 2 3 TEAM RECORDS

2 15 5 35 .286 Cal State Northridge (0) 26 28 26 18-15

3 13 7 32 .188 BYU Cougars......... (3) 30 30 30 23-5

BYU Cougars | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN

## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1 CALA, Yosleyder..... 3| 16 3 28 .464| 0| 1 4| 1| 2| 0 3 0| 0

7 SORENSEN, Trent..... 3| 5 4 13 .077| 3| 0 2| 0| 2| 0 3 1| 0

11 HOLMES, Russell..... 3| 7 2 13 .385| 1| 2 4| 0| 2| 1 4 1| 0

13 STOWELL, Robby...... 3| 14 5 25 .360| 0| 0 1| 0| 2| 0 0 0| 0

14 PEREZ, Yamil........ 3| 0 0 1 .000| 43| 2 3| 1| 8| 0 3 1| 0

17 STEWART, Andrew..... 3| 4 1 9 .333| 0| 1 1| 1| 7| 1 2 0| 0

2 SANTOS, Rodnei...... 2| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0

5 COX, Scott.......... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 1 1| 0| 2| 0 0 0| 0

6 SILVA, Joel......... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 8| 0 0 0| 0

8 PEREZ, Ivan......... 1| 3 0 3 1.000| 0| 0 2| 1| 1| 0 0 0| 0

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Totals.............. 3| 49 15 92 .370| 47| 7 18| 4| 34| 2 15 3| 0

TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 9.5

Game K E TA Pct

1 17 5 36 .333 Site: Provo, Utah (Smith Fieldhouse)

2 16 6 31 .323 Date: Apr 21, 2007 Attend: 1550 Time: 1H 30M

3 16 4 25 .480 Referees: Marvin Hall, Les Calles