PROVO, Utah — No. 9 BYU women's volleyball fell to West Coast Conference foe San Diego in five sets (25-18, 20-25, 25-19, 17-25, 15-10) at the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday.
Sophomore outside hitter Madelyn Robinson led the way for BYU (16-3, 7-1), tying a career-high 18 kills in the match, posting a .341 hitting percentage with four blocks, three digs and three assists. Senior outside hitter McKenna Miller added 13 kills while senior outside hitter Riley Lyman tied a career high with seven digs in front of a packed Fieldhouse of 4,405 fans, the ninth-highest attendance in program history.
Set 1
In a tightly contested set that saw 11 ties, neither team could take the lead early. However, the San Diego (15-4, 8-0) offense proved to be too much for the Cougars to handle as the set progressed, as they notched 18 kills to BYU’s 10, going on a 7-1 run to put them ahead for good and win the set, 25-18.
Set 2
Miller and Robinson led the way for the Cougars as they took the set 25-20. Miller ignited the Cougar offense, posting seven kills in the set, while Robinson added five of her own to give the Cougars a stellar .328 hitting percentage. BYU went on a 5-1 run in the middle of the contest to win comfortably.
Set 3
The Toreros got out to a hot start early and built a big lead, but BYU showed a lot of fight and battled back before ultimately losing the set, 25-19.
Set 4
In set four, it was the Cougars' turn to start strong and pushed for a 25-17 victory. BYU got out to a 3-0 lead early and kept its foot on the gas, holding a 20-11 lead late in the contest. Solid play from across the board kept San Diego at bay, with a dump kill by Whitney Bower ending the set.
Set 5
The set was tied early at 4-4, but San Diego pulled away with an 8-2 run. The Toreros held on for the victory, winning the set 15-11.
The Cougars will continue conference play on the road next week at Loyola Marymount (11-8, 5-2) on Thursday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. PDT. The match will be televised on the WCC Network.