Riding a wave of emotion only a packed Smith Fieldhouse can provide, the No. 4 BYU men's volleyball team thrashed top-ranked Pepperdine 30-18 in Set 4 to clinch a 3-1 victory on Friday.
That's no way to treat a No. 1 team, is it?
It is when you've been on the road for eight straight matches. The Cougars traded in their frequent flier miles for a season-high hitting percentage (.441) and a powerful blocking performance that brought an abrupt end to Pepperdine's eight-match winning streak.
"It's unreal," said BYU sophomore opposite Robb Stowell, who led the Cougars with 22 kills. "We're all so sick of traveling, sick of airplanes and sick of airports. We've got the best crowd in the entire nation, and it feels good to come home and have a welcoming like this."
All 4,169 Cougar fans who rocked the Fieldhouse on Friday, take a bow.
The two teams split the first two sets and Pepperdine took a 12-9 lead in Set 3 on a Cory Riecks kill. But BYU battled back and had an 18-15 advantage after sophomore middle blocker Russell Lavaja threw one down. The set was tied at 26-all when sophomore middle blocker Futi Tavana scored a huge solo block, which was followed by a kill from Stowell for a 28-26 Cougar lead. A Pepperdine hitting error at set point gave BYU the 30-27 victory and a 2-1 lead in the match.
That's when Set 4 happened.
"It was just synergy," Stowell said. "That's probably the best word I can think of. It felt like we had 12 players out on the court."
It probably felt that way to Pepperdine, too. The Waves fell apart under the pressure of BYU's emotion and revved up play. Set 4 was tied at 4-all when BYU scored four straight points - all on Pepperdine errors - for an 8-4 lead. It was 14-7, BYU, after another error by the visitors, and the Cougars cruised from there, winning the set 30-18 and the match on -- what else? -- another Pepperdine error.
"Every single ball was up, we were all in the right spot, everyone was doing what they were supposed to do and having fun," Stowell said. "You said we took the No. 1 team down but we feel like we're the No. 1 team, also. We can play with the best of them."
Senior outside hitter Andrew Stewart had 15 kills, hit .500 and led BYU with 12 digs to support Stowell, who hit .457. Lavaja and Tavana had 18 kills between them in the middle and led the Cougar block that almost double Pepperdine's (13.0 to 7.0). Junior outside hitter Kevin Sagers also hit double figure kills with 11.
"We served aggressively, and when we do that it gives our block a chance," BYU head coach Shawn Patchell said. "We're the best blocking team in the MPSF, maybe the nation. We've got to serve in to let our blockers do their work. And we started digging some balls, finally. We passed a few percentage points better and that lets us go to the middle more."
As for the huge momentum swing in Set 4, well, Patchell has seen that all season.
"That's the ebb and flow of volleyball, and in this conference this year, it's swinging radically," he said. "We're trying to swing it more to our side. With a few adjustments we can do that. We want to finish strong."
BYU (10-6 overall, 8-5 MPSF) and Pepperdine (9-5, 8-4) will meet again tonight at 7, and the Cougars will try to repeat their fine performance. That won't be easy to do: The past three times BYU has taken down a No. 1 team at the Fieldhouse, the opponent has come back to win the second night.
"Pepperdine is going to be better," Patchell said. "They're going to make some adjustments. We're just going to continue to do what we're doing. The key for us is to to serve and pass well."
Riecks led the Waves with 17 kills. Former Cougar Rodnei Santos, who transferred to Pepperdine after his freshman season in 2007, had 11 kills and hit a team-high .529.
• Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson can be reached at 801-344-2555 or by e-mail at ddickson@heraldextra.com
