PROVO, Utah - Back at the Smith Fieldhouse after two road games in California, the No. 9 BYU women's volleyball swept San Francisco in their first match of the week 3-0 (25-11, 25-14, 25-23) on Thursday.
"I thought we showed a lot of fight in that third set," BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. "McKenna (Miller) came in and served tough and really sparked us. Overall, I'm happy with the way we played."
The win extends the Cougars' record against the Dons to 19-0 all-time. BYU now moves to 15-2 on the year and 6-0 in conference play.
Sophomore outside hitter Madelyn Robinson led all players with 11 kills to go with five digs. Senior libero Mary Lake tied her career high with three aces while adding 10 digs and three assists while junior middle blocker Kennedy Eschenberg had seven kills, hitting .500, with a team-high five blocks.
Set 1
Four Cougars had kills during an initial 6-1 run for BYU. The Cougars continued to dominate, achieving the biggest gap of 16 points at 22-6. Robinson had four kills on four swings to eventually give BYU the 25-11 win. The Dons hit -.087 in the frame compared to BYU’s .482.
Set 2
USF held its first lead of the night at 8-5 in set two. After tying up the set three times, BYU finally got ahead at 11-10. The Cougars then raced ahead, snagging another win at 25-14 with the help of two aces by Mary Lake.
Set 3
In the final set of the night, San Francisco led until BYU managed to take the lead at 12-11. However, the Cougars’ allowed the Dons to catch up at 18-18. This was one of 14 tied scores throughout the set. USF then took their biggest lead, 23-19. After a BYU timeout, senior McKenna Miller entered the set for the first time, serving four-straight points - including two two aces - to give BYU the 25-23 win.
The Cougars will next face Santa Clara in the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday, Oct. 12, at 1 p.m. MDT.