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PROVO, Utah (Aug. 31, 2007) -- With a feisty crowd of 3,880 packed in the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday night, the No. 15 BYU women's volleyball team upset No. 10 Wisconsin 3-2 (26-30, 30-25, 30-15, 26-30, 15-13) at the BYU Molten Classic.
The Cougars' opening-round match of the tournament coincided with BYU freshman orientation, bringing in the fourth-largest crowd in BYU women's volleyball history.
"The crowd gave me chills all night," Cougar senior outside hitter Chelsea Goodman said. "They're a huge part of playing here at BYU. It's good to win in front of that many people."
BYU put on a show for the fans as five players finished with double-digit kills on a .324 team hitting percentage. The Cougars also had 30 blocks.
"This was a great match for the sport of women's volleyball," BYU head coach Jason Watson said. "I thought Rachel Dyer and Bryn Porter were amazing. This win was huge for our program."
Junior middle blocker Dyer did more than just provide defense for the Cougars. Dyer, who had a career-high 20 kills in the match, tallied seven winners in the final game, five of which came as the Cougars' first five points of the contest. Junior outside hitter Bryn Porter added a career-high 13 kills.
The Cougars started a little slow, dropping game one 30-26, but responded with energy in the following two games. Game three was the turning point for the Cougars as they won 30-15, in large part due to the play of Erica Lott and Goodman, who combined for nine kills in the game.
Despite being down two games to one, Wisconsin wouldn't go down without a fight. Sophomore outside hitter Brittney Dolgner had eight kills in the fourth game and finished with a match-high 22 kills. The Badgers rallied around Dolgner came out with a 30-26 win after an early five-point deficit.
But the fifth game was all BYU. The Cougars got out to an early 5-1 lead and never looked back. Sophomore Ashton Hansen finished off the match with an emphatic kill, giving her a career-high 10 winners.
BYU setter Kiana Rogers started for the first time in her career and dished out 63 assists.
With the win, the Cougars improve to 3-0 on the year while the Badgers drop to 3-1. BYU will face American on Saturday at 12 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse before taking on Northern Iowa at 7 p.m. to complete the tournament. Live stats will be available for both matches.
