PROVO, Utah — No. 19 BYU women's volleyball defeated the FDU in three sets (25-16, 25-12, 25-15) in its season opener at the dōTERRA Classic in the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday afternoon.
The Cougars (1-0, 0-0 Big 12) recorded 38 kills in the afternoon’s matchup, 14 of which came from true freshman outside hitter Suli Davis. The Euless, Texas native recorded a hitting percentage of .500 in the contest.
Claire Little Chambers added eight kills, while Sophia Callahan tallied six. Callahan, Brielle Kemavor and Alex Bower each carded three blocks, with Mia Lee posting a game-high four.
Bower dished out 29 assists while also tying a career-high of three aces in the match. BYU outhit the Knights .432 to .061, recorded 13 more kills than FDU (38-25), out-blocked the Knights, eight to zero and picked up 10 aces.
Set 1
The Cougars opened the match with three-straight points, but the Knights fought back with a 4-2 run, tightening the BYU lead to 5-4. The score remained close until the Cougars were able to power a 3-0 run off a Knight error and kills from Kemavor and Callahan, bringing the lead to 14-10.
BYU generated another 3-0 run, powered by a Claire Little Chambers kill and an ace from Callahan to extend the advantage to 19-12. Bower recorded back-to-back aces, forcing set point with a nine-point advantage over FDU.
The Knights fought off set point once, but Callahan sealed the match 25-16 with her second kill of the set.
Set 2
After being down 3-2, BYU got in front after a five-point streak, highlighted by two Davis kills. Davis helped keep the Cougar advantage with another three kills, powering a 6-0 BYU run to extend its lead to 15-6.
FDU went on a 5-2 run, but two-straight Cougar kills kept the advantage at seven points. A pair of kills, a Knight error and an ace from Little Chambers brought up set point. Little Chambers recorded another ace to close the set 25-12. BYU hit .412 collectively in the first and second frame while holding the Knights to a .066 clip.
Set 3
The teams traded scores to start set three and FDU put itselves in the lead, 4-3. BYU engineered a 4-0 run, with Little Chambers picking up two kills in the process. The Cougars maintained their lead at 12-7 with a Lee kill off an assist from Bower.
FDU went on a 3-0 run, minimizing the lead to two points. A 5-1 BYU run brought the score to 17-11. The Cougars powered another large run, this time a 6-2 span, pushing the lead to 23-14. A Knight error gave BYU set point and a Davis kill ended the match, 25-15.
Up Next
The Cougars continue the dōTERRA Classic on Friday night at 7 p.m. MDT in a matchup against Central Michigan. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.