TUCSON, Ariz. — Outside hitter Claire Little’s career night wasn’t enough as No. 20 BYU women’s volleyball fell in five at Arizona (13-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-18, 13-15) at the McKale Center on Wednesday night.
The Cougars (9-4, 2-1 Big 12) received double-doubles from both Little and setter Alex Bower, with Little landing 24 kills and 16 digs, both career highs.
On a night when BYU saw its season-long five-match win streak come to an end, it hit .168 to Arizona’s .241. The Cougars out-aced (eight to seven) and out-dug the Wildcats (69 to 56), but were out-blocked, 14 to seven.
Arizona tallied one more service error than BYU (12 to 11), but the Cougars’ 31 attack errors proved to be the biggest difference in the match.
Bower’s sixth double-double of the season included 39 assists and 13 digs. Lulu Uluave (13) and Hannah Billeter (11) joined Bower and Little with double-digit digs. Elli Mortensen added 13 kills and Brielle Kemavor had five total blocks.
Set 1
BYU trailed 3-0 early before surrendering two separate 4-0 Arizona runs and one 6-0 Wildcat run, calling its first timeout before recording a kill and second timeout trailing 15-8. The Cougars would tally just four kills on a -.100 clip, dropping the opening set, 25-13.
Set 2
A pair of Little aces sandwiched a Kate Prior kill as BYU flipped the script with its own 3-0 lead to start the second. Three kills for Little and a quick hitter for Kemavor put the Cougars up 10-5 and forced an Arizona timeout.
Bower, Little, Kemavor and Kjersti Strong all scored coming out of the timeout, but BYU took its first timeout with its lead trimmed to one, at 16-15. The set would see three ties through 20-20, where the Cougars took their second timeout.
The second set saw three more ties down the stretch, but Little scored through the block and Mia Lee landed an ace to even the match at one set apiece, 25-23.
Set 3
Tied in the early going, both teams went on 3-0 runs before BYU took four of six points to lead 11-10. From there, Arizona scored seven of the next 10 points, spanning the media and a Cougar timeout a point later, to lead 16-13.
Lee and Kemavor kept BYU in the mix with quick hitters, tying the set at 18-all, but the Cougars trailed 24-20 after Arizona took six of the next eight points. BYU staved off set point once but dropped the set 25-21 in a frame that saw 12 ties and five lead changes.
Set 4
Down 3-0, the Cougars reeled off six-straight, including four Little kills and a Bower-Kemavor double block, forcing a Wildcat timeout at 6-3. Another pair of kills by Little then put BYU in front 9-4.
Four kills each by Mortensen and Little paced the Cougars to a 19-12 advantage. Refusing to go away, Arizona scored four-straight before a Bower push kill and Mortensen ace forced a fifth and final set, 25-18.
Set 5
Trading points early, a Bower dump kill tied the fifth frame at 5-5, but the Wildcats scored the next three points to lead 8-5 at the side swap and 9-5 a play later when BYU called timeout.
A 3-0 Cougar run, including four of six points out of the timeout, had BYU within one, at 11-9, forcing an Arizona timeout. The Cougars drew within one after kills by Mortensen and Strong and an Alyssa Erickson ace, staving off a Wildcat match point once, but eventually fell, 15-13.
Up Next
BYU will continue its Arizona road trip on Friday, Oct. 4 with a 5 p.m. MST/6 p.m. MDT matchup at No. 15 Arizona State. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.