LOGAN, Utah — No. 12 BYU women’s volleyball earned a 3-0 sweep of Utah State (25-20, 25-22, 25-23) at the Wayne Estes Center on Saturday night.
The Cougars (11–1, 0-0 Big 12) hit .303 on the night to the Aggies’ .228, led by outside hitter Erin Livingston’s 11 kills. Middle blocker Whitney McEwan-Llarenas had eight kills, hitting .800, and fellow middle blocker Mia Lee added five.
Setter Whitney Bower tallied 25 assists to go with four kills, two blocks and two digs, while libero Hannah Billeter contributed a team-high five digs. Lee led the way with three blocks.
Set 1
BYU got kills by Livingston and Lee as the two teams went back-and-forth early. Utah State went on a 4-0 run to lead 8-4, and the Cougars called a timeout. Out of the timeout, Prior went cross-court, Kamaile Hiapo landed an ace and McEwan-Llarenas scored down the line to keep it close.
Livingston tallied back-to-back kills, one on an overpass, to tie the set as 12, and a Whitney Bower-Lee double block capped off a 4-0 BYU run that put the Cougars in front, 13-12. The two teams traded points from there, with BYU taking a 21-19 lead on a Livingston kill off the block and a Aggie error, forcing a USU timeout.
Livingston landed again, and two more Utah State error had the Cougars on a 5-0 run, that spanned the Aggies’ second timeout. Another USU error gave BYU set point, and Whitney Bower closed out the first with a dump kill a play later, 25-20.
Set 2
Trailing 4-1 early, Lee scored off the block and then sent back a solo stuff before Whitney Bower snuck in a dump kill. The Cougars tied the set a 7-7 on a quick hitter for Lee and Kate Prior solo block, but Utah State scored three-straight to go in front, 11-8.
BYU got two quick hitters for McEwan-Llarenas and a Hannah Billeter ace to tie up the second at 12-all, but the Aggies took a 15-13 lead at the media timeout. The Cougars went on a 4-0 run that featured a solo stuff by Claire Little, out of the timeout to go in front 17-15 and force a USU timeout.
A second solo block from Little highlighted another 3-0 BYU run as the Cougars gained a 20-16 advantage, forcing the Utah State’s second timeout. The Aggies got it to 23-22, but a Livingston tip kill gave BYU set point, which it would convert on a USU error, 25-22.
Set 3
The Cougars opened up a 5-2 lead all on Utah State errors, but six-straight by the Aggies, spanning a BYU timeout, had the Cougars trailing 8-5. BYU got kills from Prior and McEwan-Llarenas, along with a Livingston-Lee double block as it battled back, but took its second timeout facing a 17-12 deficit.
Five USU errors, a Whitney Bower kill and an Alyssa Erickson ace kept the Cougars in it, and a solo block by McEwan-Llarenas highlighted a 4-0 BYU run that spanned a Utah State timeout and tied the set at 21.
Two Livingston kills and a Whitney Bower solo block had the Cougars at match point, and Whitney Bower finished things off with a swinging dump, 25-23.
Up Next
The Cougars will open Big 12 play next week, hosting Houston on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. MDT, with the match televised on ESPN2.