BYU over Pepperdine in 5

[hwy101]

www.pepperdine.edu/athletics/pressreleases/mvb041103.htm

from the Pepperdine website:

BRIGHAM YOUNG RALLIES FROM TWO-GAME DEFICIT TO DEFEAT PEPPERDINE IN
FIVE GAMES FRIDAY NIGHT

Box Score

Senior outside Rafael Paal collected a team-high total of 21 kills along with four service aces, seven digs and four total blocks and
No. 3 Brigham Young rallied to defeat top-ranked Pepperdine by a final score of 26-30, 21-30, 30-27, 30-19, 16-14 in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) match played Friday night in front of 1,523 fans at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.

Brigham Young improved to 19-5 overall and 17-4 in MPSF play while Pepperdine dropped to 21-4 overall and 18-3 in league action.

The two teams will clash again on Saturday night at Firestone Fieldhouse, with the winner earning the top seed for eight-team MPSF Tournament which begins April 19.

Sophomore middle blocker Michael Burke added 14 kills and five total blocks for the Cougars, playing for the first time since defeating Long Beach State two weeks ago in Provo.

Junior middle blocker Chris Gorny and senior outside hitter Luka Slabe added 12 and 11 kills, respectively for Brigham Young.

Senior middle blocker Brad Keenan paced Pepperdine with 21 kills and five total blocks. The Waves had their 10-match winning streak at Firestone Fieldhouse snapped in the loss.

Sophomore outside hitter Sean Rooney and junior outside hitter Fred Winters collected 17 and 12 kills, respectively, for the Waves, but both players hit less than .200 in the marathon match.

"It was an exciting match for the fans, and Brigham Young was the better team tonight," said Pepperdine head coach Marv Dunphy. "We got off to a good start, and played pretty well in the second game, but Brigham Young got into a good flow to extend the match. Both teams will go back to the drawing board and go at it again on Saturday for the top seed in the league tournament."

It looked as if Pepperdine was going to breeze to an easy victory after winning the first game by a final score of 30-26 and then rolling to a lopsided 30-21 win in game two.

However, the Cougars seized the momentum in the third game with a hard-fought 30-27 win and then captured the fourth game by a 30-19 count to set-up the fifth and deciding game.

Brigham Young led throughout the fifth game, and held a seemingly insurmountable 11-8 advantage before Pepperdine stormed back and took a 14-13 lead.

The Waves served one time for the match, but Brigham Young earned the point and then scored two straight points off of Slabe's serve to record the come-from-behind win and set-up Saturday night's showdown.

Pepperdine posted a .289 team attack percentage. The Waves hit over the .400 mark in the first two games, but committed 14 hitting errors in the third and fourth game combined.

Brigham Young posted a .276 team hitting mark, and hit over the .400 mark in the final two games of the match.

The Cougars were able to post the comeback thanks to solid serving and a steady block at the net. Brigham Young collected 10 service aces compared to only two for Pepperdine, and the Cougars won the blocking battle by a 11.5 to 7.0 margin.

[guest]

Checking out the box score its easy to see why Pepperdine lost to BYU .Winters hit .161, Gledhill hit .050, Rooney hit .167, While middles Hein and Keenan hit .500 and .594 . Byu's coach made a comment that his bench substitutes made a big impact tonight , and Pepperdine stayed with their starting line-up it seems ,even with poor results from the regulars. I couldn't make the game tonight but will be there tomorrow night for sure.

[mvbdad]

Pepperdine could have clinched it last night , but need one more night to do it. If you read the post from 101 it sums it up with the Coaches comments about the game . Pepperdine came out strong, then BYU gained some confidence and changed a couple of players that made an impact. The same two teams go at it tonight and the BYU team brings many fans out with them.

[IdahoBoy]

So which game does this count for in our TVP contest, vbcruisin? we didn't really specify which night they would win or lose, just that they would.

[Barefoot In Kailua]

I picked BYU over Pepperdine in five games. It was listed as the second match on my predictions, but I meant it to be the first match .

BYU's victory over Pepperdine is interesting. The Cougar victory likely means the Warriors will have to win the MPSF tournament to get to the final four. It's going to be tight, but my prediction will not change.

[VBCrusin]

Nice try Idaho Boy & Barefoot...

The T.V.P. contest rules state," fan posts are taken in order they are given..." when you post that Pep wins in 4, and BYU wins in 5, that is the order of matches played...Pep the first night, BYU the second.

The T.V.P. contest is a "guts ball" competition (not for the weak-hearted or minded) and when you post your prediction, I record it as such. If you MEANT to have BYU win in 5 the first night, you should have posted it first for the first night. Nice try though.

Sorry...your appeal or question my call will earn you a yellow card.

[IdahoBoy]

VBCrusin said:

Nice try Idaho Boy & Barefoot...

The T.V.P. contest rules state," fan posts are taken in order they are given..." when you post that Pep wins in 4, and BYU wins in 5, that is the order of matches played...Pep the first night, BYU the second.

The T.V.P. contest is a "guts ball" competition (not for the weak-hearted or minded) and when you post your prediction, I record it as such. If you MEANT to have BYU win in 5 the first night, you should have posted it first for the first night. Nice try though.

Sorry...your appeal or question my call will earn you a yellow card.

I'll take that yellow card. I recall seeing a few times where there were "splits" for matches on double-headers. How did you rate those?

[VBCrusin]

Okay, IdahoBoy...In previous contest posts, I merely took the splits as predicted...either night. BUT there were too many TIES, so the T.V.P. Board of Directors (me), decided to amend that procedure last week to make ties tougher, and employ the present rule.

If you want to complain, please call (800) vbcrusin-rules (to heck with your opinion).

Any more protests from you, IdahoBoy, and I'll have to "red card" you which may put you one point away from winning one of my prized Californian/Hawaiian shirts.

[Barefoot In Kailua]

Crusin', You are being too arbitrary and recalcitrant, but being that you created and manage this TVP contest, I must submit to your authority . I know I'm the TVP, Hawaiian shirt or not . Everybody else is just lucky.

[Mx X]

At least a guy in Kailua knows the word recalcitrant.