California Baptist University
BYU
COUGAR SUPRISE
2/13/2007 8:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
RIVERSIDE, Calif. --- This isn't Maui and California Baptist isn't Chaminade, but the NAIA's 3-time defending champion Lancers' 3-game sweep of the NCAA's No. 1-ranked Brigham Young this Tuesday certainly brought back memories of Dec. 23, 1982.
That was the date when then-NAIA program Chaminade basketball turned the tables on the NCAA's top-ranked Virginia with a 77-72 victory just days after Virginia's win over future NBA all-star Hakeem Olajuwon and Houston. It is believed that Chaminade's win in that contest was the only time an NAIA school had toppled a No. 1-ranked NCAA Div. I team.
That is, until Tuesday night, when the Lancer men's volleyball team shocked the No. 1-ranked Cougars with a, 30-25, 30-23, 31-29, sweep before a crowd of 915 at the Van Dyne Gym.
“This is a better feeling than the national championships have been,” said CBU opposite hitter Shamsu Awudu, the career leader with 1,341 kills—including 13 kills Tuesday night. “This win feels better than any one of those because of what a great team BYU is.”
It was the Lancers' first win over BYU since the 2005 season, breaking a 5-match losing streak against the Cougars and avenging CBU's 3-game loss to the NCAA's No. 12 Long Beach State last Friday, Feb. 9.
The Lancers improve to 10-5 on the season, including 1-5 against teams ranked in the NCAA's Top-15. BYU, which split a 2-match series to No. 2 UC Irvine Feb. 3 in Provo, Utah, drops to 9-2 on the campaign.
“Our sideout game was working very well tonight,” said California Baptist head coach Ryan McGuyre. “We always know that passing is our weakness, and we also know that when we can pass well, we're as good as any team out there.”
Donald Baliaba, who smashed 10 kills and 4 aces, ripped twin aces in a 3-0 Lancer rally that made the game-one score 11-7 in favor of CBU. Awudu aced the Cougars twice in a later 4-0 run that made the score 16-10, and Urs Gunthor came up with a huge block that followed up an Eric Plunkett ace, making the CBU lead 6, at 21-15.
The Lancers finished the first game with 4 aces and out-hit the Cougars .294 (16-6-34) to .259 (14-7-27) in the opener, carrying a 1-0 lead into the second game on the strength of a 30-25 win.
Baliaba's serving again aided the Lancers in the second game, as he posted a pair of aces, including one that capped of a 6-0 tear to put the home team ahead 14-7. The cushion held up easily throughout the set, as BYU was held to just .111 (10-7-27) hitting thanks to 4 blocks—including 3 from Gunthor—in game 2.
BYU's All-American second-team middle Russell Holmes, who ended with 3 stuffs on the night, joined Yamil Perez on a block, as BYU built up their only lead of the entire match the game-3 tally 8-3.
The Cougars, who hit a match-best .324 (18-7-34) in the third set, led 19-14 after a block from Perez, Scott Cox (19 kills, 3 blocks) and Rodnei Santos, but the Lancers were not about to be upstaged on their home court, embarking on a 7-2 rally that tied the score at 21-21 when a Cox swing went past the end line.
The score was tied 7 more times throughout the remainder of the match, but Awudu and Plunkett connected for 2-straight kills that turned around a BYU game-point (29-28), and fueled a 3-0 match-ending rally.
