PROVO, Utah--The BYU women’s volleyball team defeated the Santa Clara Broncos 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-13) on Thursday night, extending their best start to a season since 2006. With this victory, the Cougars have already tied their total victories from the 2010 season, with 14 wins.
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“I thought our assistant coaches did a great job again in preparing the girls for that team,” BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “They run a lot of combination plays and different things that we haven't seen as much from other opponents. We were a little concerned so they assistant coaches worked hard to prepare the team and the girls responded, as you can see, just wonderfully well.”
Although Santa Clara (7-8, 2-2) marked the first point of the match, BYU (14-4, 3-1) took control from the beginning, eventually sparking a 12-4 run, which finished with a score of 19-9 for the Cougars. From there points were interchanged, until the Cougars eventually ended the set with a 4-1 run, 25-14.
The second set was a battle that saw four tied scores early on. Although the teams played back and fourth most of the set, BYU only once gave up the lead. Tied at 12, a kill from Jennifer Hamson sparked a 6-2 Cougar run that the Broncos were never able to recover from. It was a kill from Katie Vaughn that ultimately put the set away, 25-19.
BYU was able to carry over the momentum from the second set into the third, beginning with an 8-3 run that was initially sparked by two kills from Christie Carpenter. Trying to hold onto the set, the Broncos were able to pull within three points, with a score of 13-9, but the Cougars answered back with a 8-0 run.
Calling three time-outs within the run, the Broncos answered with their own 4-1 run, but it wasn’t enough to stop BYU’s momentum. It was a kill from Kathryn Lecheminant that finished off the set and match, 25-13.
Hamson led the Cougars with her seventh double-double of the season, posting 13 kills and 12 digs. Carpenter recorded 10 kills on the match and LeCheminant also broke her career record in block assists, with 8.
“It's good to play a match like this before you head to Malibu,” Olmstead said. “Pepperdine is a good team. They had a real nice, quick win last night over LMU at LMU so they're playing well. It's good to win these matches and get confidence and a little energy going. “
BYU will play Pepperdine in Malibu on Saturday at 1 p.m. PDT.
Although Santa Clara (7-8, 2-2) marked the first point of the match, BYU (14-4, 3-1) took control from the beginning, eventually sparking a 12-4 run, which finished with a score of 19-9 for the Cougars. From there points were interchanged, until the Cougars eventually ended the set with a 4-1 run, 25-14.
The second set was a battle that saw four tied scores early on. Although the teams played back and fourth most of the set, BYU only once gave up the lead. Tied at 12, a kill from Jennifer Hamson sparked a 6-2 Cougar run that the Broncos were never able to recover from. It was a kill from Katie Vaughn that ultimately put the set away, 25-19.
BYU was able to carry over the momentum from the second set into the third, beginning with an 8-3 run that was initially sparked by two kills from Christie Carpenter. Trying to hold onto the set, the Broncos were able to pull within three points, with a score of 13-9, but the Cougars answered back with a 8-0 run.
Calling three time-outs within the run, the Broncos answered with their own 4-1 run, but it wasn’t enough to stop BYU’s momentum. It was a kill from Kathryn Lecheminant that finished off the set and match, 25-13.
Hamson led the Cougars with her seventh double-double of the season, posting 13 kills and 12 digs. Carpenter recorded 10 kills on the match and LeCheminant also broke her career record in block assists, with 8.
“It's good to play a match like this before you head to Malibu,” Olmstead said. “Pepperdine is a good team. They had a real nice, quick win last night over LMU at LMU so they're playing well. It's good to win these matches and get confidence and a little energy going. “
BYU will play Pepperdine in Malibu on Saturday at 1 p.m. PDT.