PROVO - The Brigham Young women's volleyball team is still not 100 percent healthy. A few players continue to nurse small hurts, but the Cougars are slowly rounding into shape.
BYU's progress can be measured by its first back-to-back Mountain West Conference sweeps of 2006. Saturday in the Smith Fieldhouse, the No. 18 Cougars knocked off San Diego State 30-20, 30-22 and 30-27.
Friday, the Cougars (18-2, 9-1 MWC) took care of UNLV in straight games.
“We're getting back into the run of things,” said outside hitter Erica Lott, who is fighting an ailing back. “Before we were plagued by injuries, we were in a nice spot.”
The return of Lott, as well as setter Amy Schlauder, who missed a month with a broken finger, makes a difference in the Cougar attack. Schlauder, who had 45 assists, allows BYU to run a more balanced attack.
Against SDSU (8-14, 2-8), Schlauder found enough space to allow four Cougars to record 11 or more kills, including outside hitter Chelsea Goodman with 16.
“Amy continues to progress and get better,” BYU coach Jason Watson said. “She got Lindsy [Hartsock] going in game three.”
BYU's defense also played large, as the Cougars recorded 55 digs as Lott recorded her sixth double-double with 10 digs to go with 14 kills.
As they did the night before in a defeat at No. 10 Utah, the Aztecs upped their intensity in game three. This time, they led 12-6 before BYU called a timeout.
“It seemed like the right time to call a timeout,” Watson said. “I thought we were getting fractured and not communicating.”
Win or lose that game, Watson wanted the Cougars to remain together. They did and rallied behind Hartsock, who played big down the stretch with three of her 12 kills.
Not only did SDSU have to endure the toughest road in the MWC, but BYU's mascot Cosmo also added insult to injury by accidentally spraying the Aztec bench with a cup of ice cream. The match was delayed for about five minutes.
Next up for BYU is a rematch against Utah on Friday. The Utes defeated the Cougars, who were without Lott or Schlauder, on Sept. 29.
“I hate talking about that,” Lott said. “We just want to win.”
martyr@sltrib.com
