And we're back!

After taking a semester off I've decided to make a return to blogging with some regularity. Thanks to the Daily Universe for a mostly stellar job reporting on sporting events in my absence. For those of you not on campus here at BYU, check out universe.byu.edu for stories from the Daily Universe. Anyways back to the sports....

Volleyball completed one of their best seasons since 2007. In pre-season they went 11-3, and went 21 - 9 in their first season with the WCC. Picked to finish 6th the Cougars proved a force to be reckoned with tying Saint Mary's College for 3rd. Awards and highlights for the season:

Deseret First Duel: In an exciting 3 set match the Cougars beat Utah at Utah to recapture this season's Deseret First Duel award.

Christie: Began her Senior season on the Preseason All-WCC team and then ended with 281 kills, 2.93 per set, second most on the team. Christie had 5 double-doubles during the season helping to earn her a place on the First Team All-WCC.

Nicole: Ended her Junior season the top blocker in the WCC with 1.51 per set. Along with topping WCC Nicole ranked as high as 1st in the nation, and ended 6th. She also gained Academic All-WCC honors this season.

Kendalyn: Ended her Junior season breaking BYU's single-season average digs record with 4.26 (over the previous 3.98). Kendalyn is also number 2 all time for total digs in a season, 456, and number 6 for digs in a match, 31 (Oct 27). Along the way she helped the Cougars come in on top for digs in a three set match, and number 2 for digs in a four set match, in the WCC. Kendalyn received an Academic All-WCC Honorable Mention.

Jen: Ended her Sophmore season at the top of the conference for kills per set (3.94), and lead the team with a total of 422 kills. 26 times this season Jen had double figures in kills, and managed 11 double-doubles. These figures gave Jen the number 22 spot in the nation for points per set (4.88). For her overall efforts Jen recived a spot on the First Team All-WCC, was honored with the Academic All-WCC team, a Player of the Week award, a Player of the Month award, All-Pacific Region honors, and an honorable mention for All-America.

The team says goodbye to seniors Christie, Camilla, and Casey. Great work girls we look forward to seeing more great effort next season!

Basketball recently began their first season in the WCC, and are 1-1 so far. They lost to Saint Mary's at Saint Mary's, and then beat Portland at Portland, to start out the new year right. This start followed one of the best Cougar pre-seasons in which they went 11-2, including a 10 game win streak. So far we've seen great performances from Riley, Haley, Kimmer, Lexi, and the rest of the Cougars. Tonight the girls play Loyola Marymount at 5 at home to kick off the season at home.