Strong, Kemavor pace Cougars to four-set win at K-State

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Backed by its middle blockers, BYU women’s volleyball beat Kansas State in four sets (25-17, 18-25, 25-21, 25-17) at the Morgan Family Arena on Friday night.

BOX SCORE

The Cougars (19-9, 12-6 Big 12) concluded Big 12 play and their regular season slate with a third-consecutive victory. BYU hit just .191 in the win, but held K-State to a .168 clip.

Despite the Wildcats recording 14 more kills (56-42) than the Cougars, BYU out-blocked KSU, 15 to eight, out-aced the Kansas State, 11 to six, and had just two service errors to the Wildcats’ nine.

Kjersti Strong led the way with 10 kills (hitting .500) while Brielle Kemavor finished with nine kills (hitting .300) and a game-high eight blocks. Elli Mortensen and Claire Little added seven kills apiece.

Alex Bower carded her 10th double-double of the season with 34 assists and 11 digs. She was joined by three others with double-digit digs: Mortensen (13), Little (12) and Lulu Uluave (12).

Mortensen and Hannah Billeter both tallied a trio of aces, with Bower and Uluave contributing two each as the Cougars tied their season high of 11 service aces.

BYU also registered its second-most blocks (15) in 2024, led by Kemavor’s eight and Strong’s seven. Mortensen tied her career with three total blocks. Kate Prior, Bower, Blaykli Bobik and Elyse Stowell all had two.

 

Set 1
BYU used three 3-0 runs and one 4-0 run en route to a quick opening set win. The Cougars opened things up with a kill by Mortensen and a slide swing by Strong. Bower swung away and won a joust at the net, putting BYU in front by eight and forcing a Kansas State timeout at 11-3.

Weathering a 4-0 run that cut the Cougar advantage to three, BYU received aces from both Mortensen and Macy Short, and the Wildcats took their second timeout at 19-13. Two Kemavor kills and a pair of Kemavor-Prior double blocks closed out the first, 25-17.

Set 2
A solo stuff by Strong and an Uluave ace helped the Cougars race out to a 4-0 lead. With a 3-0 run later in the set that featured another Mortensen ace, BYU led 15-11 at the media timeout.

From there, an 11-2 K-State stretch, including an 8-0 run spanning both of the Cougars’ timeouts had BYU trailing 22-17. After a Kemavor kill, the Wildcats scored three straight, closing the set on a 14-3 run to even the match at one set apiece, 25-18.

Set 3
Back-and-forth early, two Bower aces and a pair of blocks involving Kemavor capped off a 4-0 Cougar run. A 3-0 Kansas State run gave it a one-point advantage, but another Billeter ace highlighted a 3-0 run that paced BYU to a 15-12 lead at the media timeout.

Tied at 17, the Cougars took their first timeout. Trailing by one, a Little kill and Kemavor solo stuff fueled a 3-0 run that put BYU back in front, a lead it would maintain as it finished the set on a 3-0 run, punctuated by an overpass kill from Little for the 25-21 win.

Set 4
Trading points to start the final frame, a 4-0 run gave the Cougars a 9-5 lead. Amidst a 4-0 BYU run that consisted of a Mortensen kill, Strong-Bobik double block and Uluave ace, Kansas State took a timeout.

The Wildcats drew with four, but the Cougars got a Bower dump kill to remain in front. At 19-16, however, BYU took a timeout. The Cougars responded out the timeout, scoring four straight and closing the set on a 6-1 run, including two more double blocks, 25-17.

Up Next
BYU will return to Provo and await the NCAA Selection Show, set for Sunday, Dec. 1 at 4 p.m. MDT on ESPN, to see its postseason placement.