OREM, Utah – Veronica Jones-Perry and No. 14 BYU women’s volleyball beat Utah Valley in four sets (25-21, 22-25, 26-24, 25-17) Saturday night at Lockhart Arena to win the UCCU Crosstown Clash.
“I'm really proud of the team effort and how hard we fought tonight,” BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. “Utah Valley played great and put pressure on us where we had to respond. Roni, McKenna and Cosy really carried us offensively. I thought Mary was great in the back row passing and digging. Overall, it was a great team win.”
Jones-Perry led the Cougars with 23 kills. Mary Lake contributed 25 digs and Lyndie Haddock had 46 assists. Cosy Burnett added seven blocks and McKenna Miller collected 13 kills in the win.
Jones-Perry got the first two kills of the first set for BYU (11-1), tying the score at 2-2. Utah Valley (5-10) then used a 5-1 rally to take a 7-3 advantage. A kill and block from Sara Hamson evened the score at nine apiece before back-to-back Jones-Perry kills gave the Cougars their first lead of the set at 11-10. A 6-0 BYU run ensued, aided by multiple Wolverine errors, to increase the advantage to six, 17-11. Utah Valley scored five of the next seven points to get back within three, trailing 19-16. The Cougars then surged ahead, winning the set 25-21 after Burnett won a joust at the net.
The two teams were tied at every point to begin the second set until the Wolverines had consecutive kills to take a 9-7 edge. Utah Valley went up 13-9, but back-to-back Kennedy Redding blocks brought BYU back within a point, down 13-12. The Wolverines countered with a 6-0 rally to go back ahead seven, 20-13. The Cougars then scored six of the next eight points to get back within two, trailing 24-22, forcing a Utah Valley timeout. The BYU run wasn’t enough, however, as the Wolverines took the set 25-22 on a kill.
The third set began close as a Lake ace tied the score at 8-8. A pair of kills each from Jones-Perry and Miller then helped the Cougars to a 16-10 advantage. BYU led by as many as seven at 19-12 before Utah Valley made a push with five-straight points to get back within two, trailing 19-17. The Cougars eventually closed out the set in extra points, 26-24, on a Burnett kill.
BYU took a 4-1 lead in the fourth set as kills from Burnett and Emily Lewis helped push the Cougars ahead. A Jones-Perry kill and ace then contributed to a 6-0 BYU run and 11-3 advantage, forcing a timeout from the Wolverines. A Lewis kill put helped her team to a double-digit lead at 16-6, and a Redding and Lewis block ultimately ended the set and match for the Cougars 25-17.
BYU stays on the road next, facing Santa Clara Thursday, Sept. 21, at 7 p.m. PDT. The match will be streamed live on TheW.tv. Links to live stats and the video feed can be found on the BYU women’s volleyball schedule page.