No. 1 BYU volleyball team avoids first '08 defeat

IRVINE, Calif. — Top-ranked BYU avoided the upset bug that bit several of the nation's top men's volleyball teams this week, as the Cougars won a marathon-like fifth and deciding game to defeat sixth-ranked and defending NCAA champion UC Irvine Friday night.

BYU is now the only undefeated team in the powerhouse-laden Mountain Pacific Sports Federation as the Cougars (10-0 overall, 5-0 MPSF) downed UCI (8-7, 5-5) by claiming a fifth game � first to 15 points with a two-point advantage � lasting almost as long as the first four.

The final score was 30-28, 32-34, 30-22, 28-30, 28-26.

Upset this week were No. 3 Long Beach State by Pepperdine, with the 49ers getting handed their first loss of the season, and No. 4 UCLA by Hawaii Thursday. BYU and UCI square off again tonight at 8 p.m. Mountain Time.

The Cougars won the first and third games and led 28-25 in the fourth, needing only two points to win the game and match. But the host Anteaters rallied to win five straight points and force the fifth game.

Ivan Perez led BYU with 24 kills, while Jonathan Charette added 17 and Russell Holmes 15 � three of the five Cougars with double-digit kills. BYU outhit UCI .280 to .203 and outblocked Irvine 12-10.5 in the loss.

Due to an error, the original BYU volleyball story stated that the team lost. We regret and apologize for the error.