In two contradicting conference matches, the No. 16 BYU women's volleyball team was swept by archrival No. 6 Colorado State Rams 24-30, 28-30, 27-30 on Friday, Nov. 2, and then dominated the Wyoming Cowgirls 30-16, 30-20, 30-27, Saturday, Nov. 3, at the Smith Fieldhouse.

Looking for revenge after an Oct. 6 shellacking on the road at CSU, the Cougars' star players were again outplayed by the senior Ram triumvirate of outside hitters Courtney Cox and Soraya Santos, and middle blocker Angela Knopf.

CSU remained unbeaten, raising its record to a perfect 20-0 and pushed its Mountain West Conference mark to 10-0.

"Colorado State is a mature and accomplished team," said Elaine Michaelis BYU women's volleyball coach. "They have a lot of weapons and a lot of people can come at you."

The Cougars came out timidly in a frightful first game as their poor passing led to an 0.108 attack percentage.

"Our passing didn't work very well tonight and it kept us out of our offense," Michaelis said. "I thought we had a good game plan, it just wasn't executed tonight."

Even though the Rams had more overall hitting errors than the Cougars, BYU failed to make key plays in important situations during the match.

"Anytime you come into this facility and win, it's big," said Tom Hilbert, Colorado State women's volleyball coach. "We pulled away in games two and three because we got sideouts at important times in the match."

Cox was instrumental as she led the Rams with 19 kills, six digs and three blocks with a 0.300 hitting percentage. Knopf had 16 kills and eleven digs with a 0.406 attack percentage, and Santos contributed with 14 kills, four digs and three blocks with a 0.458 hitting percentage.

Jackie Bundy, BYU senior middle blocker, was clearly disappointed and frustrated with the loss to the Rams. The Cougars' defense improved as the match progressed, but team cohesiveness was a missing element, said Bundy.

Nina Puikkonen, BYU senior All-American middle blocker, had one of her worst collegiate volleyball performances as she registered a meager three kills, nine digs and three blocks with a -0.077 attack percentage.

"I think she was pressing too hard, but she'll bounce back right away," Michaelis said.

Sunny Mahe, BYU junior right side hitter, led the Cougars with 12 kills, five digs and two blocks with a 0.290 attack percentage.

With the bitter taste of the CSU loss remaining from the previous night, the Cougars came out with authority and took out their frustrations on the Cowgirls on Saturday night, Nov. 3.

In taking a quick 4-0 lead in the first game, BYU established its blocking, passing and hitting in tracking down the Cowgirls.

Puikkonen asserted her aggression as she had six kills and four blocks in the first game, doubling her kill total against CSU.

"It was good to come out and play well," Puikkonen said. "We still have a lot of season left. If everybody comes out and does their job, we're unstoppable."

Michaelis said she was pleased to give all 12 of her players a chance to see court action against the Cowgirls, and she was impressed to see that the team was playing well and having fun on the court.

Karina Puikkonen, a BYU sophomore setter, continued her recent strong play with nine kills, 36 assists, seven digs and three blocks with a match-high 0.667 hitting percentage.

On senior night the Cougars honored their three seniors, middle blockers Puikkonen, Jackie Bundy and outside hitter Natalie Whittaker in a pre-game ceremony that included each player's parents.

Michaelis is in her 40th year of coaching, but seeing players graduate the volleyball program isn't getting any easier.

"It's always hard," Michaelis said. "It's especially hard this year because we will lose our top three players, and three of the best people you ever want to know."

Michaelis realizes that there's still a little time left for the seniors to help the team accomplish its goals.

"I said to my seniors, 'I'm glad it's not the last game.' We still have a lot of volleyball left to play this year," Michaelis said.

The loss to BYU dropped Wyoming to 8-12 with a 3-8 MWC record. With the weekend split, the Cougars now stand at 17-5 overall with a 9-3 MWC mark.

BYU will next see action this weekend as it travels to play in UNLV on Friday, Nov. 9, and at San Diego State on Saturday, Nov. 10.