No. 24 Cougars beat No. 20 Utes in five set thriller

PROVO, Utah — No. 24 BYU women’s volleyball beat in-state rival No. 20 Utah in five sets (25-21, 25-27, 23-25, 25-23, 15-12) in front of a packed Smith Fieldhouse crowd on Saturday night.

BOX SCORE

The Cougars (12-6, 5-3 in Big 12) came back from a 10-7 deficit in the fifth set, igniting a crowd of 4,825 as they rallied to close the match on a 4-0 run as part of an 8-2 span after trailing by three late.

The five-set victory also marked head coach Heather Olmstead's 250th-career win.

BYU was led in kills by Claire Little, who registered 16 on the night, posting a double-double with 12 digs, her third of the season. Elli Mortensen accrued 15 kills while Brielle Kemavor had nine. Kemavor also tied her career high in blocks (10), leading the Cougars in the category. Mortensen tied her career-high with three blocks as well. 

Lulu Uluave earned 17 digs through the contest. Little followed with 12, while Mortensen and Alex Bower gained nine, with the pair both a dig shy of double-doubles of their own. Kemavor was also a kill shy of a double-double.

BYU hit .232, just out-hitting Utah's .224 clip. The Utes out-killed the Cougars, 73 to 58, and recorded three more aces than them (7-4), but BYU outblocked Utah, 15-12.

Set 1
The Cougars went to work quickly, gaining a 4-1 lead to begin the set. The BYU advantage continued to stretch with back-to-back kills from Mortensen. Utah stayed in the mix with a 5-1 run that was capped off by an ace that brought the contest within a point, 11-10. 

The Utes knotted the set at 17-17 as both teams vied for the upper hand. A pair of kills from Little and Kjersti Strong preceded a Utah timeout with the Cougars up 22-20. The Utes secured a kill which was followed by a BYU timeout. The Cougars went on a 3-0 run to end the set 25-21.  

Set 2
Both sides went point-for-point to begin the set, highlighted by a diving third ball kill from Uluave. Utah edged ahead with 4-0 run to move to 7-3 before a BYU called timeout. The Cougars tacked on two points before the Utes responded with a 7-1 run.

BYU followed suit with a 5-1 run led by efforts from Mortensen and Strong to come within four of the Utah lead, 15-11. A 6-2 run from the Utes propelled the Utah advantage. The Cougars rallied with four straight kills from Little, Mortensen and Kemavor, prompting a timeout from the Utes, who held a 21-17 lead. 

BYU turned on the jets to knot the match at 23, fueled by a 6-2 run out of the huddle. The Cougars staved off set point twice before the Utes gained the advantage on the longest point of the night to move upin front, 26-25. Utah secured the set on an ace, 27-25. 

Set 3
The third set began in similar fashion to the second with both teams trading blows. BYU gained the edge to move up 6-3 on the Utes. A 5-0 run moments later saw Utah advance its lead to 9-7 before a BYU timeout. 

The Utes earned a 5-1 run before back-to-back kills from Little. Each side took turns securing points through the middle of the set, with the Cougars gaining within three points of the Utah lead multiple times. 

Efforts from Blaykli Bobik and Little propelled BYU to crawl back within a point at 23-22 before a timeout from the Utes. Coming out of the break, Mortensen knotted the match for the Cougars 23-23, but it wasn’t enough to hold off Utah who took the next two points to secure the third, 25-23. 

Set 4
BYU entered the fourth set in a 3-1 deficit before advancing to knot the match at six. The score remained close until Utah secured back-to-back aces to take an 11-9 lead before a timeout by the Cougars. Kills from Kemavor and Bobik then knotted the match at 11. Each side etched for the lead through the median of the set.

Little went for three straight kills to put the Cougars up 18-15 before a Utah timeout. A kill from Alex Bower followed by Little’s 15th of the night furthered BYU to a 5-0 run. The Utes kept within range, calling a timeout with the Cougars in the lead at 23-19. Back-to-back kills from Utah urged a BYU timeout. The Cougars took the fourth set, 25-23 on a kill from Strong down the right line. 

Set 5
BYU jumped to a 3-2 run early, capped off by an ace from Hannah Billeter. The Utes took the lead with a pair of kills moments later. The Cougars mirrored the attempt with two blows of their own, one being an ace from Mortensen. Utah took an 8-7 advantage before the two teams switched sides. 

A 3-0 run from the Utes was followed by a kill from Kemavor and an ace by Little to keep the contest within a point for the Cougars. The set was knotted at 11 by BYU on a block from Bobik and Strong. Another 3-0 run capped off with an ace from Billeter to enter match point for the Cougars. With Smith Fieldhouse crowd on their feet, BYU secured the set 15-12 to take the match, 3-2.

Up Next
The Cougars will head to Boulder to face Colorado on Friday, Oct. 25th at 7 p.m. MT, with coverage on ESPN+.