PROVO, Utah — On a four-match win streak, No. 10 BYU women’s volleyball continues Big 12 Conference play on Saturday afternoon against No. 18 Baylor in a matinee match at 1 p.m. MDT.
It will be the Cougars' fourth Top 25 matchup this season as they previously faced No. 5 Pitt and No. 13 Washington State earlier in the year before No. 20 Houston on Wednesday night.
Head coach Heather Olmstead is 28-21 (.571) against ranked opponents during her tenure, with a 15-4 (.789) record against Top 25 teams at the Smith Fieldhouse.
BYU (12-1, 1-0 Big 12) is in game two of a stretch of four-consecutive Top 25 games with No. 20 Houston, No. 18 Baylor, and a two-game set at No. 9 Texas next week.
No. 10 BYU vs. No. 18 Baylor
The Cougars 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 earned a sweep of Houston to open league play this week, winning sets two and three, 25-13 and 25-18 after a back-and-forth 26-14 first set victory. The Cougars hit .253 with Houston’s .029, the sixth time this season that BYU has held opponents below .100 hitting.
Outside hitter Erin Livingston surpassed the 1,000-career kill mark midway through the match, finishing with a a game-high 12 kills on a .310 clip. Opposite hitter Kate Prior and middle blocker Whitney McEwan-Llarenas added six kills apiece, with McEwan-Llarenas’ eight total blocks a team-high.
As a team, BYU ranks No. 4 nationally in total blocks (136.5) and No. 8 in opponent hitting percentage (.133), both of which are good for No. 1 in conference. The Cougars are also No. 5 in the country in blocks per set (3.03), which ranks second in league.
On an individual scale, middle blocker Mia Lee is 24th in blocks per set (1.38) and 25th in total blocks (58). McEwan-Llarenas’ 54 total blocks rank No. 39, and libero Hannah Billeter’s 22 service aces rank No. 41.
BYU and Baylor have met just once previously, a five-setter in Hawai’i during the 2017 season.
No. 18 Houston (6-4, 0-0 Big 12)
- The Bears swept Stephen F. Austin at home earlier in the week
- Baylor fell to then-No. 11 Washington State in four before beating then-No. 19 Ohio State in five sets last week
- Head coach Ryan McGuyre is in his ninth season with the Bears, going 185-67 (.734) since 2015.
- Baylor leads the all-time series between the two teams, 1-0.
After five-consecutive matches in the state of Utah, the Cougars will head out on their first Big 12 road trip for a pair of matches at No. 9 Texas on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 28-29. Game one will be televised on FS1, while game two will be streamed on the Longhorn Network.