Set 1
With three separate 3-0 runs, BYU raced out to an 11-5 lead, forcing a Kansas timeout. A trio of kills by Little and three blocks from Strong paced the Cougars in the early going. Kills by Kate Prior, Little and Kemavor saw BYU double up Kansas at 16-8.
After a slide kill by Strong, the Jayhawks came within four, at 18-14, but three more Little kills kept them at bay. The Cougars’ second 5-0 span of the set featured two Mortensen-Kemavor double blocks and spanned a KU timeout, earning BYU set point.
Kansas fought set point off twice before Mortensen scored on a saving tip through the block to get the Cougars a 25-17 opening-set win. BYU hit .314 in the first frame while holding the Jayhawks to a .056 clip, also out-blocking them 7-1.
Set 2
Trading points to start the set, a 3-0 Kansas run had BYU trailing by two. Back-to-back KU errors, a Billeter ace and Mortensen kill made it four-straight and put the Cougars in front, 10-8.
Two Kemavor kills sandwiched a Bower ace and kept BYU in front by two at the media timeout, 15-13. A pair of Mortensen kills then highlighted a 3-0 BYU run, forcing a Kansas timeout ahead 19-14.
Quick hitters for both Strong and Kemavor got the Cougars set point, but BYU took a timeout after consecutive Kansas points made it 24-20. Coming out of the timeout, Little scored on a cross-court kill for the 25-20 set win.
Set 3
A back row kill by Little and slide from Strong got the Cougars going as both teams went back-and-forth to begin the third. After a 3-0 run and 7-2 span by the Jayhawks, BYU trailed 11-8 and called its first timeout.
Kansas took five of the next seven points from there, and the Cougars took their second timeout after the deficit had doubled to 16-10. Little, Bower, Kemavor, Mortensen and Strong all scored to keep BYU in it, but Kansas would take the set, 25-19.
Set 4
The Cougars led 6-2 after a Bower-Kemavor double stuff, forcing a Jayhawk timeout. A pair of KU errors sandwiched a Kemavor overpass kill, extending the BYU lead to 9-4. Two kills by Strong then made it 12-8, but the Cougars called timeout in front 12-10.
After Little went cross-court and Kemavor scored on a quick hitter, BYU led 15-11, but three-straight by Kansas made it a one-point game. Two more kills by Kemavor in the middle stretched the Cougar advantage back out to 18-15, forcing a KU timeout.
Mortensen ended a 3-0 Jayhawk run that cut the BYU lead to one with a push kill before two Strong slide kills, a left-handed Kemavor kill and Little-Kemavor double block earned the Cougars match point.
Kansas fought off match point four times, spanning a BYU timeout, to tie the set at 24 before Little got the Cougars match point twice and Mortensen once. Tied at 27, back-to-back kills by Strong finally sealed the deal, 29-27.
Up Next
The Cougars will travel 90 minutes west to Manhattan for their regular season finale at Kansas State on Friday, Nov. 29 at 6:30 p.m. CST, with streaming on ESPN+.
