Cougars sweep CS-Northridge

PROVO -- For a men's volleyball team without the proverbial "man in the middle," BYU had enough 'man-power on the outsides to sweep its home-season opener Friday night against Cal State Northridge.

That 'man-power came from opposite/outside hitter Joe Hillman and outside hitter Jon Alleman. They were joined by outside Fernando Pessoa in combining for 45 of the Cougars' 55 kills in the 30-24, 30- 27, 30-28 victory over Matadors in front of a Smith Fieldhouse crowd of 4,151.

The sweep was a flip-flop for the eighth-ranked Cougars (1-2), who last week dropped a pair of 3-0 matches to No. 1 Pepperdine.

Fifth-ranked CSNU (3-2) came in having beaten No. 9 Santa Barbara and No. 6 Long Beach State before faltering to No. 2 UCLA in last weekend UCSB tournament finals.

"I can't tell you we're a great team," said BYU coach Tom Peterson of his Cougars, which finished the 2003 as the NCAA runners-up. "But we did enough tonight to beat a pretty good team. The early season is just too unpredictable."

With experienced middle blockers Mike Burke and Chris Gorny sidelined with injuries, Hillman led the Cougars in hitting for the third time in as many matches -- a career-best 21 kills, third-game errors dropping his hitting percentage to .270.

"He was the guy who they couldn't stop the first two games," Peterson said.

Alleman contributed a season-best 13 kills, while Pessoa -- making the move from his libero position of last season -- added another 11 kills. Both hit .333.

Noting the few sets for middle blockers Aaron Ferre and Cory Carpenter, Peterson said BYU will need more middle opportunities to make itself more versatile and less predictable.

In the first game, BYU jumped out to leads of four points early and six midway as the Matadors scrambled to adjust to service problems. Peterson said California teams find Provo's higher altitude adding up to three feet in unexpected distance on a player's serve.

With the Matadors drawing to within two of Cougars several times once the scores reached the 20s, BYU took the final four points of the game for a 30-24 victory. The Cougars hit .467 in the game, more than doubling up the Matadors

As in the first game, Hillman and Pessoa led the Cougar attack in the second, which was tied several times in the teens and again at 23- all before BYU pulled away at 30-27.

With Hillman's hitting off in the third and the Cougars battling an early deficit, Alleman stepped up with six kills. BYU took the lead for good at 20-19, raced to a 29-25 margin and then held on for the 30-28 match-clinching score.

NOTES: The two teams meet again tonight, at 8:30 p.m. in the Fieldhouse . . . BYU setter Carlos Moreno, who had 42 assists Friday night, will be featured on the cover on the upcoming issue of Volleyball Monthly.

E-mail: taylor@desnews.com

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