No. 17 Cougars sweep Red Raiders

PROVO, Utah — No. 17 BYU women’s volleyball swept Texas Tech (25-16, 25-23, 25-22) to improve to 2-0 in conference play on Saturday afternoon at the Smith Fieldhouse.

BOX SCORE

The Cougars hit (9-3, 2-0 Big 12) hit .244  on the afternoon while holding the Red Raiders to a .093 clip, led by Claire Little’s 14 kills and Kjersti Strong’s 12, tying a season high. 

Setter Alex Bower and libero Hannah Billeter each recorded three service aces on the day, tying a career high for Bower and a season high for Billeter. Libero Lulu Uluave led BYU in digs with 10. Bower also recorded 34 assists and five digs.

As a team, the Cougars tallied just six aces to the Red Raider's eight, but out-blocked Texas Tech 10 to seven, also recording four more digs, at 42-38.

Set One
Both sides traded points to open up the match, knotting the set six times before the media timeout. The Cougars pulled ahead 15-11 with kills from Kjersti Strong and Claire Little. BYU moved up two more points on Texas Tech before the Red Raiders called their first timeout of the match. 

The Cougars maintained control of the scoreboard through the remainder of the set, highlighted with kills from Brielle Kemavor and Strong. BYU closed out the first set with a triple block from Blaykli Bobkik, Elyse Stowell and Strong, taking it 25-16. 

Set Two
Texas Tech jumped to a 5-1 lead to open the second set with back-to-back service aces. BYU responded with a 8-0 run to retake the lead 9-5, highlighted with two service aces of their own from Alex Bower. The Red Raiders kept in the mix, bringing the set within three of the Cougars before the media timeout, 15-12. 

Texas Tech continued pressure, tying the set 19-19. BYU pushed ahead two points with Kemavor and Bobik each securing kills. The Red Raiders matched the advance with a 3-0 run to take a 21-20 lead before a BYU timeout. The Cougars took the second set 25-23 on a 4-1 run which was capped off by a solo stuff from Strong. 

Set Three
BYU advanced to a 3-1 lead highlighted by Bower’s third service ace on the afternoon which marked both a season and career high for the freshman. Texas Tech replied with a 6-1 run to force a Cougar timeout with the Red Raiders in the lead, 7-4. 

Texas Tech tacked on another six points to extend the advantage over the Cougars to 13-8 before another BYU timeout. The Cougars rallied back with kills from Little and Kemavor to bring the set within two points. A double block by Bobkik and Kemavor was followed by a kill from Stowell and forced a Texas Tech timeout with Cougars trailing 16-15. 

BYU charged out of the break with three-straight service aces from Billeter to take an 18-16 lead. The Cougars closed out the match with a kill from Little, 25-22. 

Up Next
BYU will head south to face Arizona at the McKale Center in Tucson on Wednesday night. The match is set for 6 p.m. MST/7 p.m. MDT with the broadcast available on ESPN+.