Tonga Leads Cougars Past Aztecs In Final Road Trip Of Season

SAN -- Led by freshman Sunny Tonga's offense and an impressive defensive effort, the No. 10 BYU women's volleyball team defeated San Diego State 15-11, 15-12, 15-12 to improve their record to 20-3 overall and their Mountain West Conference record to 9-1. The loss drops the Aztecs to 10-13 overall and 3-6 in the Mountain West.

Tonga led the Cougars' offense with 15 kills and a .419 hitting percentage. The BYU defense finished the night with 18 team blocks. Sophomore Nina Puikkonen led the way with 11 blocks and was one dig away from a triple-double in the three-game match. Junior Melissa Layton and senior setter Anna-Lena Smith each added seven blocks.

Puikkonen and senior Caroline Bower added 12 kills to the Cougar attack while Smith, an All-American, finished with 36 assists to add to her all-time record at BYU, which was set earlier this season.

The backrow defense was also impressive for the Cougars. Sophomore Jackie Bundy led the team in digs with 11. Puikkonen ended with nine, Smith had eight and Bower had seven.

Jamie Evans led the Aztecs with 12 kills. Amy Hallquist ended the night with a double-double, finishing with 10 kills and 13 digs.

The Cougars will play their last regular season match on the road Saturday when they play at UNLV at 8 p.m. The next home match will be against Utah Nov. 12 at 7 p.m.