PROVO, Utah — No. 23 BYU women's volleyball took No. 17 TCU the distance before ultimately falling in five sets (25-18, 23-25, 25-27, 25-17, 16-18) at the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday night.
The Cougars (10-6, 3-3 Big 12) received a combined 51 kills from Claire Little, Brielle Kemavor (hitting .484) and Kate Prior (hitting .412) but came up just short in their five-set battle with the Horned Frogs. Despite the career-high effort by Kemavor and season-high total from Prior, BYU dropped its fifth match in five sets this season, all of which have been by two points.
TCU hit .214 on the night in comparison to BYU's .200 clip. The Cougars recorded 69 kills to the Horned Frogs' 57, but also had 35 attack errors. Similarly, BYU tallied a season-high 11 aces, but was neutralized by nine service errors. TCU outblocked BYU, 13 to nine.
Alex Bower posted her seventh double-double of the season with 53 assists and 11 digs. She was joined by Lulu Uluave (19), Elli Mortensen (13) and Hannah Billeter (12) in double-digit digs, with Uluave and Mortensen's totals both career highs. Kemavor led the team with five total blocks.
Set 1
The opening frame saw 11 ties and eight lead changes before BYU pulled away down the stretch. The Cougars had runs of six- and five-straight, closing out the set on a 4-1 run to take it 25-18.
Set 2
Going back-and-forth in a set that again had 11 ties through a 20-20 deadlock, a 3-0 TCU run put the Horned Frogs up for good en route to a 25-23 win, knotting the match at one set apiece.
Set 3
TCU went on a pair of 3-0 runs early before BYU fought back to take a 16-13 lead during a 5-0 span. Three-consecutive points by the Horned Frogs tied the set at 17 before a 4-0 run by the Cougars put them up 22-18.
A 3-0 TCU run during a 5-1 span tied things up again at 23, and the Horned Frogs would score four of the final six points to go up 2-1 in the match with a 27-25 third-set victory.
Set 4
BYU answered three-consecutive TCU points to start the match with six in a row of its own before surrending four-straight that gave the Horned Frogs their lead back. Cougar runs of 4-0 and 5-0 would force a decisive fifth set as BYU took set four, 25-17.
Set 5
In a final frame that saw 10 ties and four lead changes, the Cougars faced a 6-4 deficit before fighting back to tie things up at 8-8. Both teams then traded points through 13-all. BYU staved off two TCU match points before earning one of its own. The Horned Frogs took the final three points of the match, however, winning the fifth, 18-16.
Up Next
The Cougars will make their first visit to Ames, Iowa since joining the Big 12, taking on Iowa State on Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 6:30 p.m. CDT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.