The BYU men’s volleyball team has given Cougar fans much to cheer about over the last six years.

Sizzling spikes, spectacular digs, game saving blocks and three national championships are just of the few things that have thrilled fans over the past few years. Yet of all these things the greatest memory for many was last year’s national championship match against Long Beach State at the University in Honolulu.

Game 1 wasn’t pretty for the Cougars; it was arguably one of the worst game the Cougars had ever played. The 49ers quickly gained a 19-6 advantage and from there cruised to a 30-15 win, marking the worst-ever scoring loss for the Cougars as well as an NCAA Tournament all-rally scoring era low.

“I know that for me, I just laughed it off,” former BYU outside hitter Jon Alleman said. “Because it’s not like basketball where if you’re down by 20 you start to think that you have lost, in volleyball, it’s only one game and you still can come back and win.”

However, the Cougars quickly showed their resilience, reversing the tide and taking the second game, 30-18, but the seesaw battle was far from over.

Long Beach State showed its determination in Game 3 by again breaking the Cougar defense and an 11-all tie. The Beach won the third game on an eventual 19-9 run, winning easily 30-20. Long Beach State led BYU 2-1 and was one win away from walking away with the NCAA National Championship.

“At this point you could tell that the guys were starting to get a little worried,” Alleman said. “I can’t even really remember what happened it was all kind of a blur until the middle of the fourth game.”

Still the Cougars continued to fight.

BYU won an emotionally charged fourth game 32-30, a game that was highlighted by 13 ties but only two lead changes.

“I think all the coaches on both sides were calm, at least that’s how it looked on the outside,” BYU head coach Tom Peterson said. “But underneath I was being torn apart, that’s why I don’t have much hair anymore.”

The national championship match had been forced to a fifth and final game. The Cougars had faced this situation just a year earlier in the championship match against Lewis University when they lost the title match and had to settle for second best in the nation.

For the top-ranked BYU men’s volleyball team, 2004 would be different. The Cougars made it interesting, rallying from a 10-6 deficit, clawing their way back into a match that had defeat written all over it. The Cougars came up huge, saving two championship points to win the game, match and the national title, 19-17.

“I have won a national championship before,” Alleman said. “But none of them even come close to this one. Just all the emotions and the culmination of all the hard work, it was just like hitting a grand slam in the World Series with two outs and being down by three. It was just incredible.”

In the spirit of 2004, the men’s volleyball team’s winning tradition has continued on. The Cougars recently returned home from the Outrigger Volleyball Invitational in Honolulu as champions and have won ten consecutive matches dating back to last year. At this rate, BYU should be heading toward another successful season.



Copyright Brigham Young University 12 Jan 2005