BRIGHAM YOUNG RALLIES FOR FIVE-GAME WIN SATURDAY NIGHT OVER PEPPERDINE IN MPSF TITLE MATCH
From Pepperdine's site.Senior outside hitter Jamie Mayol collected a match-high total of 23 kills on Saturday night and No. 3 ranked Brigham Young rallied to upend top-ranked Pepperdine by scores of 25-30, 31-33, 30-28, 32-30,
15-7 in the championship match of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Tournament played in front of 1,678 fans at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.
Brigham Young improved to 22-6 and the Cougars secured the league's automatic berth to next weekend's four-team NCAA Championships scheduled for May 1 and 3 at The Pyramid in Long Beach.
Despite the loss, Pepperdine, 24-5, is expected to earn the lone
at-large bid to the NCAA Championships.
Pairings for the NCAA Championships will be announced Sunday afternoon on ESPNews at approximately 2:30 p.m. (PDT).
Penn State, ranked No. 7. earned the automatic berth from the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association after defeating George Mason by scores of 27-30, 30-23, 30-24, 34-32 in the title match at State College, Pennsylvania.
Lewis, ranked No. 4, captured the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association title with a 30-27, 30-25, 30-26 homecourt sweep over Loyola-Chicago earlier this evening in Romeoville, Illinois.
Similarly to a regular season match played April 11 at Firestone Fieldhouse, Brigham Young rallied from a two-game deficit to defeat Pepperdine on its homecourt.
Junior outside hitter Jonathan Alleman recorded 22 kills, 10 digs and three total blocks for the Cougars, while junior middle blocker Chris Gorny and sophomore middle blocker Michael Burke both added 15 kills.
Junior outside hitter Fred Winters led Pepperdine with a team-best total of 17 kills, while senior middle blocker Brad Keenan and sophomore outside hitter Sean Rooney both totaled 16 kills. Sophomore outside hitter Mike Gledhill contributed 11 kills, eight digs and seven total blocks for Pepperdine.
Brigham Young posted a .320 team attack mark and held Pepperdine to a team hitting percentage of .268. The Waves outblocked the Cougars by a slim 18-14.5 margin, while Brigham Young collected 50 digs as compared to 41 for Pepperdine.
After winning the first game by a 30-25 score, Pepperdine bolted out to a 14-7 lead in game two. Brigham Young stormed back and eventually took a 29-27 lead.
Pepperdine knotted the game at 29-29 following consecutive kills by Winters, and took a 30-29 lead following a hitting error by Alleman.
With the score tied at 31-31, Winters registered a kill to give the Waves a one-point lead and then recorded a service ace to seal the hard-fought victory.
Brigham Young led throughout the third game, stretching its lead to as many as seven points at 21-14. Pepperdine clawed back and pulled within a 29-28 count following a combination block by Keenan and sophomore setter John Mayer, but Alleman followed with a kill to extend the match.
Pepperdine had a chance to seal the victory in the fourth game. The Waves took a 29-27 lead after a kill by Rooney. Burke slammed down a quick hit to pull the Cougars within a 29-28 count, and Burke and sophomore setter Carlos Moreno combined to block Winters to tie the game at 29-29.
The Waves took a 30-29 lead when Alleman committed a service error, but Mayol registered a kill for Brigham Young and Burke blocked Keenan on consecutive plays to give the Cougars a 32-30 victory.
With the momentum rolling in its favor, Brigham Young bolted out to a 4-1 lead in the fifth game and was never seriously threatened.
Moreno collected 79 assists, two service aces, seven digs and two total blocks for Brigham Young. Burke led the Cougars with eight total blocks, while Gorny and senior outside hitter Luka Slabe both added five.
Keenan registered three service aces and eight total blocks to pace the Waves in both statistical categories. Mayer collected a team-high total of 10 digs and was credited with 55 assists.
All-Tournament tickets for the NCAA Championships cost $25 for adults and $20 for students and youth. If available, Single-Day tickets will be available on May 1 at a cost of $15 for adults and $12 for students.
The semifinal matches will be played next Thursday (May 1) night at 6 and 8 p.m. The NCAA title match will be contested next Saturday
(May 3) afternoon beginning at 4:30 p.m.
All matches involving Pepperdine will be broadcast live on the internet via the Pepperdine Athletics website.
The first semifinal match is scheduled to be televised on a delayed basis on ESPN2 next Friday (May 2) beginning at 8 a.m. (PDT) with the second semifinal match to follow at 11 a.m.
The championship match will be aired live nationally on ESPN2.
Box scorewww.pepperdine.edu/athletics/mvolleyball/Stats/pepmvb29.htm
