No. 19 BYU records 14 blocks in sweep at LMU

LOS ANGELES — No. 19 BYU women’s volleyball out-blocked LMU 14-4 as it swept the Lions (25-16, 25-23, 25-13) at Gersten Pavilion on Friday night.

BOX SCORE

The Cougars (8-0, 0-0 Big 12) hit .290 on the night while holding LMU to a .068 clip, posting 18 more kills than the Lions in the contest.

Mia Lee tallied half of the team’s blocks, with four of her seven total blocks coming on solo stuffs, tied for the second-most in a rally-scoring era match at BYU. Kennedy Eschenberg was the last to do so for the Cougars, with four solos at San Francisco in 2021.

Suli Davis and Claire Little Chambers had 16 and 15 kills, respectively, both hitting .324 and .355 for the match. Alex Bower recorded 31 assists, also landing four kills on a .667 clip.

Emma Barbero finished with a match-high 15 digs. Brielle Kemavor added five total blocks, including three solo, while Bower contributed three total blocks.

Set 1
The two teams traded points early before a 3-0 BYU run, all on blocks, forced an LMU timeout at 13-9. Kills from Sophia Callahan, Davis, Bower and Lee fueled a 6-1 stretch and 4-0 run that spanned the Lions’ second timeout as the Cougars gained a 19-11 advantage.

A pair of Little Chambers kills, one on a tip and another via overpass,  sandwiched a Bower dump kill down the stretch, paving way for a quick hitter by Brielle Kemavor, who finished things off the next play with a solo stuff, 25-16.

Set 2
A trio of kills by Davis, followed up with a back row attack from Little Chambers, got BYU going in the second. Callahan scored on the right side, Little Chambers hammered an overpass kill and then went cross court, forcing an LMU timeout at 9-4. Bower got in on the overpass fun before another Little Chambers kill, capping off the Cougars’ second 5-0 run of the set. Three consecutive BYU attack errors had the Lions within two, and the Cougars called timeout ahead 13-11.

BYU got another Bower dump, Kemavor solo stuff and kill, and Little Chambers kill, but the set would see eight ties before Mia Lee sent back a solo block, forcing an LMU timeout at set point. The Cougars called timeout after the Lions scored out of the break, but Davis secured the set for BYU with a first-ball kill off the block, 25-23.

Set 3
Aces from Lulu Uluave and Hannah Billeter paced the Cougars as the final frame went back-and-forth early. An overpass kill by Little Chambers and Kemavor quick hitter put BYU in front for good, with a 4-0 featuring solo blocks by Bower and Lee gave the Cougars a 15-11 lead at the media timeout.

Little Chambers ended a long rally with a kill and LMU took its first timeout with BYU on a 3-0 run, leading 18-12.  Little Chambers ended a long rally with a kill, igniting a 9-0 run that featured four blocks involving Lee as well as a slide kill by the middle blocker and forced both of LMU’s timeouts.

Closing the set on a 10-1 run, Little Chambers sealed the Cougars’ third-consecutive sweep with a kill for the 25-13 third set win.

Up Next
BYU will wrap up the LMU Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 13 at noon PDT against Western Michigan. The match will not be streamed, but live stats will be available.