PROVO, Utah — No. 9 BYU women’s volleyball faces a familiar foe on Wednesday night, hosting former WCC opponent Loyola Marymount in its home opener in the Smith Fieldhouse at 7 p.m. MDT.
Loyola Marymount @ No. 9 BYU
- Wednesday, Aug. 30 (7 p.m. MDT)
- Big 12 Now on ESPN+
- Stat Broadcast
- Tickets
The Cougars (3-0, 0-0 Big 12) kicked off the 2023 campaign with a 3-0 start at Montana’s Ellesyn Invitational last weekend, most notably knocking off then-No. 5 Pitt in four sets. The win marked the program’s first top-5 win since beating No. 2 Stanford on the road in 2019.
Outside hitter Erin Livingston and setter Whitney Bower were both named to the Ellesyn Invitational all-tournament team, with Livingston honored as the tournament MVP.
Livingston and freshman middle blocker Mia Lee picked up the team’s first weekly Big 12 awards as members of the new conference this week. Livingston earned the Offensive Player of the Week award while Lee was named Rookie of the Week.
Pacing BYU with 52 kills last weekend, Livingston hit .280 across the Cougars’ three matches. The Invitational's tournament MVP recorded a game-high 19 kills in BYU’s win over then-No. 5 Pitt on Friday afternoon. She averaged 4.33 kills per set and also added 23 digs, four blocks, two service aces and two assists.
Lee kicked off her Cougar career with nine total blocks in the BYU’s win over Pitt, a game-high and the most by a BYU freshman since 2018. She tallied 18 blocks on the weekend, as well as 11 kills on a .310 clip. Lee also recorded two service aces and two assists during the Cougars' weekend in Montana.
Through the first weekend, BYU ranks No. 3 in total team blocks (40) and No. 6 in blocks per set (3.33). On the individual side, Livingston is 15th in total kills (52), while Lee’s 18 total blocks rank 16th. With 17 blocks, Whitney McEwan-Llarenas is No. 26.
The Cougars get set to face the Lions for a 14th-consecutive season. BYU has won the last eight matchups between the two teams.
Loyola Marymount (1-1, 0-0 WCC)
- The Lions went 1-1 at Long Beach State’s tournament, falling to then-No. 1 Texas in straight sets before sweeping the Beach in three sets
- LMU went 18-10 (13-5 WCC) last season, dropping its NCAA Tournament opener to the third-seeded and No. 10 Oregon Ducks
- Trent Kersten is in his first season with the Lions and fourth season as a head coach. He is 48-29 (.623) all-time.
- BYU leads the all-time series between the two teams, 24-2. The Cougars are 14-0 against the Lions in Provo. BYU head coach Heather Olmstead is 14-2 against LMU during her tenure.
The Cougars will then host the dōTERRA Classic later in the week, with matchups against McNeese and UC Davis slated for Thursday and Saturday night.