BYU volleyball: BYU volleyball squad came oh-so-close
NCAA selection committee decision puts end to season
The road to next year's Final Four goes through Provo — or better put, to Provo. BYU will play host to the 2009 national tournament.
But the Cougars have some big voids to fill if they want to contend in '09, since they lose the bulk of their starting lineup to graduation, including a pair of All-Americans in middle blocker Russell Holmes and outside hitter Ivan Perez.
Also departing is fellow starting middle Trent Sorensen, starting opposite Jonathan Charette and part-time starting setter Brian Congelliere.
All together, the quintet accounted for 1,571 of BYU's 1,739 kills on the season, 633 of the 1,631 assists, 95 of the 115 service aces, 537 of the 1,178 digs and 508 of the 611 total blocks.
The cupboard isn't left completely bare — the Cougars return starting outside Andrew Stewart, setter tandem Yamil Perez and Reed Chilton and libero Joel Silva. Leandro Justen, Jeff Robinson, Mat Taylor and Kent Tuttle also saw some valuable, albeit limited, court time.
Gone from a deep 2007 squad was stellar outside hitter Yosleyder Cala (turned pro), part-time middle Rodnei Santos (transferred to Pepperdine) and freshman starter Robby Stowell (left on an LDS Church mission).
Still, BYU was picked No. 1 to start the season and held the top spot in the national rankings for the first half-dozen weeks.
Regular-season highlights included two-match sweeps of defending champion UC Irvine, perennial powerhouse (and eventual MPSF Tournament winner) Pepperdine and one-time No. 1 Cal State Northridge as well as a first-ever 3-0 match victory over UCLA in Pauley Pavilion. BYU finished the regular season tied atop the Mountain Pacific standings with Long Beach State.
Losses included a rare Stanford three-set sweep in Provo, a second-night loss at UCLA and two defeats in as many nights at Long Beach State.
In the MPSF playoffs, the Cougars downed Irvine and Northridge, advancing to the finals against Pepperdine, which had upset tourney host LBSU in the semis.
In the finale, BYU wasn't in top form but still claimed the first two sets by identical 30-28 scores and had the Waves at match point, 29-27, in the would-be-clinching third game. But Pepperdine won five of the next six points to win the set and won the final two games to claim the match, the title and the Final Four automatic berth.
Recent comments
Under the pressure and shadow the NCAA cast upon the BYU team it...
David Viger | May 8, 2008 at 9:34 a.m.
The only entity who started the "perceived notion" that...
Ted | May 5, 2008 at 12:32 p.m.
BYU has an excellent men's volleyball team and program, they...
Anonymous | May 4, 2008 at 6:39 p.m.
