PROVO, Utah — After going 3-0 against in-state opponents last week, No. 10 BYU women’s volleyball gets set to open Big 12 play, welcoming No. 20 Houston to the Smith Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. MDT. The match will be televised on ESPN2.
Wednesday night will mark the Cougars' third Top 25 matchup this season as they previously faced No. 5 Pitt and No. 13 Washington State earlier in the year. BYU enters a stretch of four-consecutive Top 25 games with No. 20 Houston and No. 18 Baylor at home this week, as well as a two-game set at No. 9 Texas next week.
No. 10 BYU vs. No. 20 Houston
The Cougars (11-1, 0-0 Big 12) moved up two spots to No. 10 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll on Monday, marking 156-consecutive polls in the AVCA Top 25 and 147-straight in the top 18.
BYU picked up a four-set win against Utah before earning sweeps at Utah Valley and Utah State last week, hitting .338 across the three matches, fueled by 36 kills from outside hitter Erin Livingston and 19 each by opposite hitter Kate Prior and outside hitter Claire Little.
Setter Whitney Bower added 16 kills to go along with 83 assists, while middle blocker Mia Lee contributed 14 kills and a team-high 18 blocks. Libero Hannah Billeter finished with eight aces on the week, and her 21 digs were second behind fellow libero Kamaile Hiapo’s 24.
Prior tallied 12 blocks, with middle blocker Whitney McEwan-Llarenas posting nine. As a team, BYU recorded nine service aces with no service errors at Utah Valley, the most aces without an error during the rally scoring era in program history.
Ranking nationally in three statistical categories, the Cougars’ 124.5 total blocks are No. 5 in the nation, while their 2.96 blocks per set average rank No. 6 and .142 opponent hitting percentage is No. 14.
Lee and Billeter both rank in the top-50 of individual statistics nationwide. With 1.41 blocks per set, Lee is 18th, while her 55 total blocks are 24th. Billeter has 21 service aces and averages 0.52 aces per set, both of which rank No. 48.
BYU prepares for its second battle of the Cougars this season with Houston coming to town. The two teams last met in Provo in 2010, with Houston winning in five sets.
No. 20 Houston (7-2, 0-0 Big 12)
- The Cougars earned a win at Texas A&M and a sweep of Liberty last week.
- Houston is on a three-match win streak after beating SMU two week ago.
- Head coach David Rehr is in his fifth season with the Cougars, going 91-36 (.717) since 2019.
- BYU leads the all-time series, 6-5, and is 2-2 against Houston in Provo. BYU head coach Heather Olmstead has yet to face UH during her tenure.
Following BYU’s Big 12 opener against No. 20 Houston, the Cougars will host No. 18 Baylor in a Saturday afternoon matchup on Sept. 23 at 1 p.m. MDT on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.