No. 19 Cougars sweep Broncos behind efficient attack

LOS ANGELES — Nine Cougars recorded a kill as No. 19 BYU women’s volleyball swept Western Michigan (25-17, 25-18, 25-17) at Gersten Pavilion on Saturday afternoon.

BOX SCORE

The Cougars (9-0, 0-0 Big 12) hit .343 in their fourth-straight sweep, holding the Broncos to a .141 while posting 31 more kills than them. BYU out-aced WMU, six to three, but also had six service errors to the Western Michigan’s three.

Five Cougars finished with hitting percentages .389 or better, led by Suli Davis’ 16 kills, hitting .444, and Claire Little Chambers’ 11, on a .389 clip. The duo both finished two digs shy of a double-double, while Alex Bower had 36 assist and was one dig away from one of her own.

Davis and Emma Barbero both tallied two aces. Brielle Kemavor led the way with two blocks, while Davis, Sophia Callahan, Bower, Anna Blamires and Mia Lee each has one.

Set 1
BYU quickly opened up a 9-2 lead, forcing an early Western Michigan timeout after runs of four- and five-straight, including three-consecutive kills by Davis. Little Chambers and Callahan then fueled a 3-0 run that put the Cougars in front, 15-6.

A pair of Elli Mortensen kills paced a second 4-0 span in the set, giving BYU a 21-9 advantage. Little Chambers then scored twice, sandwiching a Mortensen ace. After a 5-0 Bronco run, the Cougars called timeout, finishing off the opening set on a Blamires kill, set up by Grace Fredrick, her first-career assist.

Set 2
After trailing early, a pair of 3-0 runs, backed by Davis, Little Chambers and Kemavor, paced BYU to a 9-5 lead. Weathering a 4-0 WMU run, kills by Callahan and Bower had the Cougars in front 15-12 at the media timeout.

Abby Hoybjerg got on the board with a kill before an ace by Davis, making it 19-14, BYU. Hoybjerg, Mortensen and Kemavor each posted kills down the stretch, and the Cougars closed out the set on a bad set by the Broncos.

Set 3
An early 3-0 run by BYU, the two teams traded points until a 5-0 Cougar run, including two Barbero aces, put BYU in front 13-8, forcing a Western Michigan timeout.

Trading points once more, the Cougars maintained their five-point advantage as Kaylee Tingey recorded her first-career assist and dig. Kemavor and Blamires sparked a 3-0 run, and WMU took its second timeout at 22-15.

A couple Davis kills gave BYU match point, and the Cougars wrapped things up in similar fashion to the second with a Bronco error for their fourth-consecutive sweep on the season.

Up Next
BYU will face three in-state opponents next week, beginning with Weber State at home on Tuesday, Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. MDT on ESPN+.