The Men's Volleyball team swept No. 5 Cal State Northridge in their first conference games Friday and Saturday, Jan. 14, 2006, before a packed Smith Fieldhouse.

Team captain and All-American Ivan Perez led the Cougars to their four-game win Saturday to make the Cougars 2-0 in conference play and 4-0 overall.

This weekend's victory marks BYU's first sweep of Northridge since 2003. Perez tied a season-high 21 kills and hit a season-best percentage of .421. Starting middle-blocker Victor Batista also had a great match with 18 kills and five blocks on Saturday.

Sophomore middle-blocker Russell Homes had a standout performance this weekend. He hit .692 and broke his personal blocking record with 12 blocks on Friday, helping the cougars set a single-match rally scoring record with 24 blocks altogether.

"I don't think Russell even knows his full potential," head coach Tom Peterson said.

Holmes is replacing last year's All-American middle-blocker, Michael Burke, and is excited to be part of such a great legacy.

"Of course there is a little pressure in filling the shoes of someone like Mike Burke, who was one of the best blockers in the nation," Holmes said. "To live up to that is going to be a challenge, but its something I look forward to, so I'm really excited."

The Cougar's victory this weekend can largely be attributed to their exceptional blocking on Friday night and persistent defense. Brian Rowley had a match-high 11 digs while Rob Neilson added 10.

Friday's match started slow for the Cougars who struggled to get their offense going, losing the first game 24-30. Jonathan Charette registered a solid performance with 14 kills and 5 digs to help the cougars come back and win the next three games 30-26, 30-24, and 30-24 before a crowd of 4,337.

BYU started Saturday's match-up with a 30-28 victory in game one, followed with a 30-25 finish in the next game. Northridge fought back in game three, beating the Cougars 30-26, with Eric Vance leading the way with 10 kills for the Matadors. The Cougars rallied in game four, starting with four unanswered points and ending the match with a solid 30-25 victory.

Up next for the Cougars is UC Santa Barbara, Friday and Saturday, Jan.20-12, 2006, at 7 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse.