PROVO, Utah — No. 16 BYU women’s volleyball finishes off its inaugural season as a member of the Big 12 visiting a former foe in TCU on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 1 p.m. CST.
No. 16 BYU @ TCU
The Cougars swept West Virginia in Morgantown on Wednesday night before making their way down to Dallas for Thanksgiving. BYU was led by outside hitter Erin Livingston, whose 18 kills came on a .500 clip.
As a team, the Cougars received kills from seven different hitters, finishing with a .326 percentage on the night, holding the Mountaineers to a .084 clip, the ninth time they’ve held an opponent below .100 hitting this season.
Setter Whitney Bower was a dig shy of her seventh double-double this season, finishing with 29 assists and nine digs. Libero Kamaile Hiapo posted 13 digs, while opposite hitter Kate Prior and middle blocker Brielle Kemavor added four blocks apiece.
BYU’s 25-5 third-set win set a new rally scoring era record for the Cougars as the largest margin of victory in a single set. BYU’s previous record was 19, done three times and most recently against Boise State in 2019.
With one game remaining in conference play, the Cougars lead the league in opponent hitting percentage (.165) and are second in aces per set (1.66), blocks per set (2.67), total service aces (163) and total blocks (262). Saturday’s opponent, TCU, leads the Big 12 with 299.5 total blocks.
As a team, BYU ranks No. 17 nationally in blocks per set, No. 22 in opponent hitting percentage, and No. 27 in team hitting percentage (.271).
Livingston ranks No. 22 in kills per set, with 4.25, and No. 30 in points per set, at 477. The outside hitter is second in the Big 12 in total kills (412), and third in both points (463) and points per set.
The Cougars have four hitters with clips of .250 or better on the season: Bower (.352), middle blockers Whitney McEwan-Llarenas (.342) and Mia Lee (.313) and Livingston (.289), with Stowell just outside at .240.
Members of the Mountain West Conference from 2005-2010, BYU and TCU get set to face each other for the first time in 13 years.
TCU (16-13, 8-9 Big 12)
- The Horned Frogs are coming off a win against High Point earlier in the week.
- TCU swept its series at Baylor two weeks ago before falling at Houston in straight sets last week.
- Head coach Jason Williams is in year two with the Horned Frogs, going 33-24(.579) in Fort Worth thus far.
- The two teams have met 17 times previously, but not since Nov. 18, 2010. BYU holds a 14-3 advantage all-time, and is 6-2 in matches at TCU. The Cougars last visited the Horned Frogs on Oct. 23, 2010, a 3-1 win.
Following BYU’s regular season finale at TCU, the Cougars will await the NCAA Selection Show for their postseason draw. The Show will air on ESPN on Sunday, Nov. 26 at 6 p.m. EST.