Lawless Republic
Fansided

BYU Women’s Volleyball: Cougars can’t sleep on Stony Brook

By Shaun Gordon

ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 05: Fans stand next to a giant NCAA logo outside of the stadium on the practice day prior to the NCAA Men's Final Four at the Georgia Dome on April 5, 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 05: Fans stand next to a giant NCAA logo outside of the stadium on the practice day prior to the NCAA Men's Final Four at the Georgia Dome on April 5, 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

BYU Women’s Volleyball earned the No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, but they can’t overlook Friday’s first round opponent: Stony Brook.

BYU Women’s Volleyball is on a one-game losing streak. It comes after a 27-game winning streak.

Fortunately for the Cougars, that loss didn’t prove to be as costly as many thought it would be. It took BYU out of the argument for the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, but they still received the No. 4 overall seed.

And that’s what really matters.

As long as they keep winning, the four top seeds will host the first four rounds of the tournament, having home-court advantage until the Final Four.

And everything’s even there, so being seeded anywhere from Nos. 1-4 really doesn’t change a whole lot.

Another advantage of being a top seed is playing lower seeds early on. BYU takes on Stony Brook, the equivalent of a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

But the Cougars can’t overlook the Seawolves at all. Stony Brook enters Friday match with a 17-game winning streak of their own, and they swept through their America East conference slate and tournament.

And while the America East isn’t nearly the highest level of competition in women’s college volleyball, being able to run the table in conference is always difficult.

Just ask BYU.

Stony Brook is a good defensive team, especially from their back line. They average 16.5 digs per set, which is nearly four more than the Cougars.

The Seawolves aren’t far behind BYU in kills per set (14.2-13.4) or aces per set (1.38-1.24) either. Hitting percentage is where the biggest difference lies (.367-.245).

Overall, the Cougars are at least a little bit better in nearly every statistic, which should prove more than enough in a sport where sets usually end with the losing team only a few points behind the winner.

But when a few points make all the difference, anything can happen.

BYU learned that the hard way last week, and they can’t afford a repeat.

Next. BYU Women's Volleyball sweeps WCC awards. dark

NCAA Tournament First Round (at BYU)

  • Denver vs. Utah – Friday, November 29 at 4:00pm MT (TheW.tv)
  • Stony Brook vs. BYU – Friday, November 29 at 7:00pm MT (BYUtv)
Home/BYU Cougars