Women's Volleyball: The Phone Booth

Lexi Elman slammed another kill into the floor.

The outside hitter for the Pacific Tigers had been making the BYU defense look positively anemic, and the Cougars couldn't get the ball down. Alexa Grey swang and swang, but the Pacific team was on her every move. Elman hammered her point home like a dozen others so far that night---a solid pass, a very quick set, and between the outstretched hands of Cougar defenders.

Before long, Pacific was up 2-0 in the sets, and BYU was trying to not have thoughts about getting swept. They had tried both of their excellent setters, Camry Willardson and Alohi Robins-Hardy, but despite their and Grey's and opposite Cosy Burnett's best efforts, the offence wasn't coming. They had to find something quickly, or they were about to make a very early exit from Pacific's Spanos Center. Somewhere in that intermission, they found what they needed.

It was a phone booth.

They set it up in front of the net.

Pacific, who had been averaging just under .300 in the first two sets, never hit higher than .000 the rest of the night. The Cougars had gotten back to what the Cougars do.

Block.

It is their ultimate turnaround weapon. There is almost no lead in sets so great that cannot be taken away by the fear that every attack you make will be hammered right back into your face.

Historically, BYU volleyball teams have been strong in the block since the age of coach Carl McGown on the men's team, who was known as one of the foremost blocking coaches in the country. When Shawn Olmstead, a national champion libero from those years under McGown, took over the women's team in 2011, he made several immediate changes. For one, he made the libero a scholarship player. For two, he took with him the Carl McGown philosophy in blocking.

After a couple years, the BYU women's team's defense at the net began to flourish. In 2014, they had the most team blocks per set in the nation, with both the individual leaders in blocks in Whitney Howard and Amy Boswell. Now with Shawn gone to the men's team, his sister Heather Olmstead at the helm has the Cougars right back where they were. You can believe she had a thing or two to say at the intermission. It showed. That same duo of Howard and Boswell made that evident.

There is still no one at the collegiate level better at the net than the Cougars.

Not only did BYU stifle the Tiger's with 19 soul-crushing blocks as a team, but once their wall went up and the ceiling got lower, the number of errors for Pacific shot up---and out, and over. Lexi Elman, seemingly unstoppable after two, ended with 13 errors to offset her 23 kills on the night. When she wasn't shut down outright, she and opposite Maycie Labass were simply trying too hard to find some way, any way, to get steady production inside the white lines. What had been a 2-0 lead became a 3-2 loss. In total, the Tiger's had 39 errors as a team to the Cougars' 17.

And that was what turned the match.

One thing every successful team needs is an identity. People have to know their place, their position, their roll. Alexa Gray is the Ace on the attack. Ciara Parker is a the Defender Prime---a recording-holding libero for digs. And behind their indomitable middles Boswell and Howard, the Cougars are a blocking team.

Certainly, BYU is not unbeatable. Their 14-2 record is proof enough of that. Their blocking has shown some inconsistency compared to last year---they are merely the 5th best blocking team in the nation instead of the best. But when their front line is as dominant as it can be, as it is at its best, there are few indeed that can manage to get passed the Cougars.

Beware the Phone Booth.

Quick Hits

Basketball

Both men's and women's teams are now into the full swing of practice, getting a feel for new additions to their rosters. The men's team has the look of a deep, balanced team, and despite not getting any votes in the preseason coaches poll, many believe the overall makeup of the team could be better than last year's. That's even with losing all time leading scorer Tyler Haws. The women's team has to replace their rock in the middle, WCC Player of the Year Morgan Bailey, but according to Coach Judkins they have talent and athleticism in their new forwards, particularly New Zealand transfer JR Kalani Purcell. The women's teams has been perennial contenders in the WCC, knocking off frontrunner Gonzaga in the conference tournament twice, and consistently making trips to the NCAA. Frankly, they deserve a lot more fans showing up to their games than they have gotten. Both teams showcased their stuff with the 3rd Annual "Boom Shakalaka" on Friday night, which, if you're a 90's era gamer like me, is a name that warms the heart.

Women's Soccer

The Cougars continue to roll with the wins, even if they are a bit closer than desirable. With a school record 49 shots and 19 corner kicks, BYU only managed to out San Diego 1-0. Still, sitting pretty with a top-5 ranking and a 12-1-1 record, if the Cougars manage to improve their offensive accuracy and maintain their dominance in the WCC, they not only will take a fourth straight WCC championship, but have a chance to host up to four matches in the NCAA tournament. Their Elite Eight run in 2012 was one of the most thrilling things to happen on BYU campus in sports. Even with their second loss of the season coming this week at San Francisco, they still have a chance at that again with 20th ranked Santa Clara on the slate next.

Women's Volleyball

While the block was clearly evident in both the Pacific match and the Saint Mary's game that followed, BYU managed to put away scrappy Gonzaga in three sets with only 7 blocks. After a bit of a swoon for a large portion of the first set, the serve game of the Cougars was too much for the Bulldogs. Racking up 6 aces and a number more poor passes that weren't handled cleanly, the Cougs forced a lot of free balls and let their pin hitters Alexa Grey and Cosy Burnett do the demolition work. The pair had 21 and 15 kills, respectively, and both hit well over .500 for the match. The Cougars took care of business at home against Portland in similar manner. They have a road swing of their own this week against Pepperdine (who they dispatched 3-0 in a mostly one-sided match) and LMU. While you never know when a conference foe will jump out at you, there is little reason why the Cougars should not take the WCC title again.

Football

Oh, that BYU quarterback. There is no greater source of drama for the BYU football teams. Not the kind of teen drama you get on the WB. The drama of great, seemingly perfectly executed and time honored rising action---hopeful start, encounter adversity, toil for a while, and then rise above it.

Tanner Mangum is injured, is out---ECU uses this to start putting points on the board, ties it 38-38 with four minutes to go. And then to the roar of teammates and crowd, Mangum returns to the field. Suddenly, everyone on the blue and white was trying harder---wide receivers and offensive line blocking great swaths, running backs tearing up chunks of years with abandon. Tanner only passes three times, but each one is crisply caught for solid yardage as he calmly drives the field 75 yards for the score, leaving only 19 seconds on the clock. Everyone believed in him, and it was evident. Fans, coaches, and players knew as soon as he hobbled back under center, that things were well in hand. 

The next week, with that injured hamstring, Mangum looked hobbled in the first half against Cincinnati. The Bearcats had the nations 5th ranked offence and showed it in that first quarter. Still, with a lot of Cougars returning from injury and suspension on the defensive side of the ball, the Cougars rallied to a furious 4th quarter in which they held the Bearcats to -7 yards and scored 21 points themselves. With Wagner and Fresno State left on the home slate, BYU should almost certainly have a perfect home record on the season.

Upcoming Games

FTB	Oct 24, 2015 Saturday	Wagner	1:00 PM MDT	Cougar IMG Sports Network	BYUtv
WVLB	Oct 24, 2015 Saturday	Loyola Marymount*Preview	12:00 PM PDT		TheW.tv
SFB	Oct 24, 2015 Saturday	UNLV	1:00 PM MDT
WSOC	Oct 24, 2015 Saturday	Santa Clara*Preview	1:00 PM PDT		TheW.tv
MBKB	Oct 28, 2015 Wednesday	Cougar Tipoff	7:00 PM MDT	Cougar IMG Sports Network	BYUtv