The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament proved to be daunting for Brigham Young University (BYU) men?s volleyball team (The Cougars) as it collided with California State University Northridge?s (CSUN) very own Matadors. The defeat proved to be fatal for the Cougars because it signaled that they?re off from the season. CSUN won three of the four sets giving BYU just one.
During the series of matches, there were several notable athletic performances from each team?s top scorers. Cougars? Andrew Stewart led his team with a remarkable record of 17 kills. This was his 22nd double-digit record during the season. Other eye-catching hard-hitters from BYU were Russel Lavaja and Kent Turtle. Each of them earned commendable number of kills, 13 and 10 respectively. The Matadors also dealt with stubborn defenses from the Cougars despite the latter?s many setbacks during the game. Lavaja, a freshman, also displayed nine astonishing blocks for BYU making the Matadors to rethink their strategies.
The Matadors beat the Cougars in the first two sets. BYU attempted to revive their luck in the third to no avail. The third actually began with seemingly flawless attacks from the Cougars as Lavaja and Sagers made an exciting duo in leading their team to a very huge advantage. The Matadors also seemed to have faltered at the start of the third set. But as the match progressed, BYU made fatal and irreversible errors massively reducing their lead over CSUN.
The fourth started with a remarkable performance from CSUN?s Eric Vance who led the Matadors with four kills. The said team finally overpowered BYU with a 12-7 lead. Apart from his dashing kills, his block and his lethal service ace contributed to his team?s advantage over their opponents. A timeout was called but this time, BYU was further behind. The set was finally concluded by Matadors? 30-27 victory
