No. 20 Cougars sweep Wildcats behind Little's 20 kills

PROVO, Utah — Led by Claire Little's 20 kills, No. 20 BYU women's volleyball swept Arizona (26-24, 25-22, 25-20) at the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon. 

BOX SCORE

The Cougars (14-7, 7-4 Big 12) were paced by Little, who finished a dig shy of a double-double with 20 kills and nine digs. Elli Mortensen was also able to crack into double figures, with 10 kills on a .421 clip. Kjersti Strong had seven kills and Kate Prior added six.

BYU also received contributions from Alex Bower, who was a dig shy of a double-double herself with 36 assists and nine digs. Lulu Uluave recorded a game-high 14 digs and was followed closely by Hannah Billeter's 12.

A close match throughout, the contest featured 26 ties and 10 lead changes across the three sets. Notably, the teams were tied at 18 in all three sets.

Set 1
BYU came out of the gates strong, earning a 4-0 lead behind a kill from Little to start the run. The Cougars would then trade runs throughout the rest of the set. BYU led for majority of the set with the Wildcats drawing ties at both 18- and 23-all. The end of the set was full of runs, causing timeouts from both teams. 

Mortensen broke the 23-23 tie coming out of the timeouts to force set point. Arizona defended game point once but the Cougars, behind a saving dig from Uluave and a kill from Little, forced a second set point. BYU subbed in Macy Short to serve, and she ended the set with an ace, giving the Cougars a 26-24 first-set win.

Set 2
Both began the second set trading points back and forth. The Cougars struggled to string points together as the Wildcats jumped out to a 9-6 lead. Neither team was able to shrink or grow that lead as both teams traded kills and errors. A kill by Mortensen sparked a 4-1 BYU run which brought the Arizona lead to just one, at 15-14.

After that run ended, the Cougars wouldn’t take long to get on another as they went on a 3-0 run to take the lead for the first time in the set behind a kill from Little, forcing a Wildcat timeout at 19-18, Cougars. The teams went back-and-forth until Arizona was able to get a 22-21 lead, forcing a BYU timeout. 

Out of that timeout, the Cougars went on a 3-0 run that included a Prior kill, an ace from Bileter and a kill by Strong. Billeter then made a point-saving dig that ended in a Mortensen kill to clinch the second set for BYU, 25-22.

Set 3
Set three began in similar fashion to the second. Both teams traded points until a kill from Mortensen tied the set at seven. The Cougars then took their first lead of the frame on a kill by Little. The Wildcats fought back to take a lead of their at 11-9, and BYU took a timeout. 

A kill by Little out of the timeout sparked a 4-1 run with an ace from Bower and kills from both Mortensen and Mia Lee. Arizona would respond with a 5-1 run of its own, taking a 17-15 advantage and forcing the Cougars' second timeout. 

A long rally between the teams followed the timeout and would end on a block by Prior, igniting a 3-1 BYU run that tied the set at 18 apiece for the third frame in a row, forcing a Wildcat timeout. The Cougars won the point out of the timeout to expand their run. They would win the next three points, stretching their run to six straight behind two Little kills as they took a 22-18 lead.

Arizona would end the run there but couldn’t hold the BYU for long as it would take the next two points and force a match point. Arizona successfully defended one match point but had its next attack go wide, sealing the sweep for the Cougars, 25-20. 

Up Next
BYU heads to the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City next week to face the Utah Utes on Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. MDT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.