Cougs come to terms with NCAA snub

PROVO — For BYU women's volleyball coach Karen Lamb, it was a nerve-wracking month.

Not only did her Cougars fail to qualify for the NCAA tournament, but she also underwent surgery. On top of that, she fretted about her husband's employment status.

Lamb's husband, Barry, has been a defensive coach in the BYU football program for 11 years. But when head coach Gary Crowton resigned in early December, the Lambs weren't sure if there would be a place for Barry on the new staff.

"For me, personally, there's been a lot of turmoil, not knowing what position we'd be in," Karen said.

Fortunately for the Lambs, new head coach Bronco Mendenhall, who was hired Dec. 13, opted to retain Barry.

Now, Karen is healing from surgery, and she's focused on preparing her volleyball squad for next season.

Though the Cougars fell short of their goal of reaching the NCAA tournament in 2004, Lamb is optimistic about the direction the Cougars are going.

"I'm excited about the future of BYU volleyball," she said. "We have great young people in the program. I like to win and there'll be a lot more winning to come."

The Cougars finished with a 19-11 record after winning eight of their final 10 matches. The NCAA snub was tough to swallow, but Lamb understands why it happened.

"There was sadness because we were not selected," Lamb said. "You have to play well in November. We did, but we weren't selected. It was disappointing. You want to peak at the right time. You have to do certain things during the season. We didn't do enough early, or late, in the season. We needed to do one more thing."

One of the losses that probably hurt BYU's NCAA chances was a defeat at home on Sept. 17 against Saint Mary's. The Cougars blew a 2-0 advantage to drop a 3-2 decision to the Gaels. That defeat was the first of a four-match losing streak, along with setbacks to UCLA, Utah and Utah State.

BYU bounced back to win five straight, including victories over Mountain West Conference foes New Mexico, Air Force, San Diego State and UNLV. In October, the Cougars logged an impressive non-conference victory over Notre Dame at home.

However, in league play, the Cougars posted a combined 0-5 record against the MWC's top two teams, Utah and Colorado State.

Looking ahead to next season, BYU loses three seniors — Mandi Kiholm, Lindsey Metcalf and April Varner. But most of the team returns, including middle blockers Lindsy Hartsock and Lexi Brown and setter Lauren Richards.

The Cougars will also welcome back a host of young players who bring both speed and power.

"I'm excited about the players in the program," Lamb said. "We're in good position to go for the conference championship next year. There's a lot of excitement because our program continues to get better. The future's very bright."

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E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com