OMAHA, Neb. – No. 16-seed BYU women’s volleyball lost to No. 1-seed Wisconsin (20-25, 17-25, 12-25) in the Sweet 16 of the 2020 NCAA Tournament on Saturday, ending the Cougars’ ninth consecutive tournament run.
“I’m super proud of our team for the way that we battled,” said BYU head coach Heather Olmstead. “We’re grateful for the NCAA for making tonight’s match happen. We’re very grateful for what the NCAA did to make the tournament happen and we feel privileged to have played in such a unique tournament.”
Sophomore opposite Kate Grimmer had nine kills and freshman outside hitter Erin Livingston tallied seven kills to lead the team. Sophomore setter Whitney Bower recorded her 12th double-double of the season with 22 assists and 11 digs. Freshman libero Madi Allen finished with a team-high 14 digs while senior middle blocker Kennedy Eschenberg led BYU with four blocks.
SET ONE
Trailing the Badgers 5-2 early in the first game, Eschenberg connected on a kill and contributed to two Cougar blocks to even the score at 5-all. Wisconsin responded with a 7-3 run to reclaim the lead, 12-8. Bower, Livingston and senior outside hitter Taylen Ballard-Nixon each recorded a kill to bring BYU back within one, 12-11. The two teams traded points as UW maintained the slight edge before a three-point run gave the Badgers a five-point advantage, 23-18. It proved too late for the Cougars to claw back and they dropped the first set, 25-20.
SET TWO
Four unforced BYU errors helped Wisconsin jump out to an 8-2 lead to begin the second set. Consecutive kills by Grimmer brought the Cougars within five points midway through the set, 17-12. However, BYU couldn’t string together a long enough run to overcome the deficit and lost the second game 25-17.
SET THREE
The Badgers continued their dominant play in the third set, taking a commanding 12-3 lead to start. Facing what proved to be another insurmountable hole, the Cougars couldn’t find an answer for Wisconsin, falling to the Badgers 25-12.
BYU finishes the year 17-2 overall while reaching the Sweet 16 for the eighth time in nine consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.