No. 16 BYU charges to 3-1 victory over High Point

PROVO, Utah — No. 16 BYU women’s volleyball took down High Point in four sets (26-28, 25-12, 25-18, 25-22) with three Cougars earning double-digit kills in the win.

BOX SCORE

Freshman Ellie Mortensen and sophomore Claire Little led the Cougars (3-0, 0-0 Big 12) with 17 kills each. Mortensen saw a pair of career highs on the night with her 17 kills and also a .444 hitting percentage. Kjersti Strong was the third Cougar in double digits, contributing with 10 kills, seven blocks and two aces.

Freshman setter Alex Bower earned her second career double-double with 42 assists and 10 digs. Little was a dig off from joining Bower, tallying nine digs, a block and a service ace to go along with her 17 kills. BYU hit .361 through the match, while holding High Point to a hitting percentage of .186 on the evening.

Going 3-0 to win the dōTERRA Classic, the Cougars had Bower and Mortensen named to the all-tournament team, with Little being honored as tournament MVP.

Set 1
The Cougars quickly jumped up to a 3-0 lead to begin the night. The Panthers responded by knotting the set at six apiece. Back-to-back kills by Claire Little positioned BYU ahead. Both sides went point-for-point before High Point took the lead for the first time at 14-13, which preceded a Cougar timeout. 

The Panters advanced the score with a 4-0 run to move up 19-16 on the Cougars. Moments later, BYU responded with a kill from Brielle Kemavor and an ace from Hannah Billeter to tie the set at 20. A 3-0 run from High Point was followed by a 3-0 run from BYU. Both sides went point-for-point until a double touch fault on the Cougars earned High Point the first set, 28-26.

Set 2
The Cougars responded, beginning the second set on a 7-1 run highlighted by feshman libero Lulu Uluave's first career service ace. Bower saw a block at the net followed by an ace to move BYU up 12-6. The Panthers followed up the attack with a 3-0 run. BYU maintained the lead with kills from Mortensen and Strong, which prompted a High Point timeout at 17-11. BYU closed out the second set on an 8-1 run to knot the match at one set apiece, 25-12. 

Set 3
The third set saw BYU jump to a 2-0 lead before the Panthers secured three points in succession to take the lead. The Cougars retook control of the scoreboard with back-to-back kills from Mortensen. High Point saw the lead again 10-9 after a 5-1 run. BYU retook the lead on an 8-1 run, capped off by a service ace from Billeter that pushed the Cougars up 20-14. Back-to-back aces from Strong put BYU into set point, and a kill from Little secured the third set, 25-18. 

Set 4
BYU opened up an early 10-4 lead in the fourth set with kills from Little and Kemavor that prompted a High Point timeout. The Panthers rallied with a 5-0 to bring the set within two which forced a BYU timeout at 11-9. Kate Prior, Little and Kemavor each saw kills to extend the BYU lead. High Point responded with a 4-0 run to keep the set within a point. Strong’s 10th kill of the night moved the lead to 20-17, Cougars. High Point saw a late surge knotting the set at 20 a side, but BYU staved off the attack to secure the match 25-22 on a kill from Prior. 

Up Next
The Cougars will host the BYU Nike Invitational next week, with the tournament opener against Lipscomb set for Thursday, Sept. 5. The match will be streamed at 7 p.m. MDT on ESPN+.