PROVO -- The last time the BYU volleyball team was on the court, observers said it might have been the best collegiate volleyball game ever played.
No one will be quite so generous in describing the drubbing the Cougars put on Coastal Carolina in the first round of the NCAA tournament.The Cougs made short work of the Chanticleers, 15-1, 15-7, 15-3 in advancing to a second-round date with Kansas State in the Smith Fieldhouse.
"Not to be disrespectful of Coastal Carolina," said Cougar setter Anna-Lena Smith, "but we knew we were going to win."
So did virtually all of the 678 fans in the building.
BYU, 29-3, set the tone early in the match as they hammered the Chants 15-1 with the only Coastal Carolina point coming off a muffed block by BYU's Korie Rogers.
CCU managed to make the second game a little more interesting but still fell 15-7. Through the first two games, the BYU blockers shut down the Chants, forcing a negative hitting percentage.
"Blocking's been our forte all year," said BYU coach Elaine Michaelis. "They're not the only team that has had trouble with it."
BYU dominated the net so thoroughly the Cougars were chuckling after many points. In all, the Cougs had a 26-3 blocking advantage on the final stat sheet.
"By far, they are the biggest-sized team we've seen this year," said CCU coach Tammi McCaudy-Lee. "We've seen some pretty good teams earlier in the year, but it just doesn't compare."
BYU was not only bigger, the Cou- gars were more experienced. CCU had just one senior on the roster to go along with six freshmen, a sophomore and a pair of juniors.
But it was a newcomer who paced the Cougars in the 46-minute match.
Freshman Nina Puikkonen led the Cougars with 10 kills, eight blocks and eight digs. Smith finished the match with 24 assists and seven digs in a well-balanced Cougar attack.
"It was not our best effort," Michaelis said. "But we did some good things."
In addition to getting the win, the Cougars were glad to have it come in a less stressful fashion than the five-game marathon with Hawaii in the WAC championship. "It was nice to have a little breather," BYU's veteran coach said. "We needed a rest after that last one."
While the coach was glad to have an easy match for a change, the players were thrilled. "I can still walk," Smith said in trying to compare the two matches. "It was a good opportunity to work on things we're going to need to do later on in the tournament."
BYU's offense was working in almost as perfect order as the defense was against the Chants. BYU had only nine hitting errors in the game and finished with a respectable .368 hitting percentage.
"Coastal Carolina was a fine group to have this week," Michaelis said. "It was a fun match to have."
KANSAS STATE DEF. GEORGETOWN: The Wildcats earned a date with the Cougars in Saturday's match as they swept the Hoyas in Friday night's opener at the Smith Fieldhouse.
Dawn Cady paced K-State with 16 kills and 17 digs while Kim Zschau added a dozen kills, 12 digs and four blocks in a 15-9, 15-6, 15-7 win.
K-State had only a .252 hitting percentage but limited the Hoyas to just .151 in the easy win as the Wildcats improved to 19-11. Georgetown ended its season with a mark of 24-7.