No. 10 Cougars sweep No. 18 Baylor as Bower surpasses 4,000 career assists

PROVO, Utah — No. 10 BYU women's volleyball sweep No. 18 Baylor (25-17, 25-17, 25-15) as senior setter Whitney Bower reached the 4,000-career assist milestone at the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon. 

BOX SCORE

The Cougars improved to 13-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big 12 as they out-hit the Bears .387 to .121 in the match. BYU had seven service aces and 10 total blocks to Baylor's four aces and four blocks. 

Bower tallied 31 assists as she moved to 4,011 assists for her career. Outside hitter Erin Livingston led the Cougars with 13 kills, hitting .348. Middle blocker Whitney McEwan-Llarenas registered eight blocks to lead BYU, also adding seven kills on a .538 clip. Livingston and libero Hannah Billeter each had two service aces. 

Set 1
BYU scored the first two points of the match on an Aria McComber ace and Livingston kill as the Cougars held the lead for the remainder of the set. Three Baylor errors forced the Bears to take a timeout with BYU up 11-5.  

Three Baylor kills in a row caused BYU to take a timeout of their own at 13-9, before the Cougars then took control, building an eight-point lead en route to a 25-17 opening set win. Livingston led BYU with six kills and Bower had 10 assists in the set.

Set 2
The Cougars and Bears traded points for much of the first half of the set as both teams were hitting above .300. BYU opened up a four point lead at 16-12 on a Kate Prior kill and three Cougar blocks in a row.

Bower registered her 4,000th-career assist on a Mia Lee kill to move the score to 21-17. BYU then scored the next four points of the set with two kills and two Baylor errors, taking the second, 25-17.

Set 3
BYU got down early as the Bears led 3-0 on a block and two service aces. McEwan-Llarenas and Lee put the Cougars on the scoreboard as they both registered a kill. Two Baylor kills and a BYU error had the Cougars take a timeout, down 7-4. 

Making a run of its own with kills from Kate Prior, Llarenas and Bower, BYU forced the Bears to take a timeout, trailing 10-9. Out of the timeout, the Cougars scored 10 out of the next 12 points to lead 20-11, with a kill and two service aces by Livingston securing the victory for BYU, 25-15. 

Up Next
The Cougars will travel to Austin, Texas next week for their first Big 12 matches on the road as they face the No. 9 Longhorns in a pair of matches on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 28-29.