No. 21 BYU picks up four-set win against Houston

PROVO, Utah — No. 21 BYU women’s volleyball earned a 3–1 (25-17, 25-27, 25-19, 25-17) win over Houston at the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon.

in front of 3,500 fans at the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon in its annual Breast Cancer Awareness match.

BOX SCORE

A crowd of 3,500 was in attendance for the Cougars' (15-2, 3-2 Big 12) annual breast cancer awareness match in which they out-hit Houston, 2.33 to .173, also recording 11 more kills (54 to 43). BYU also had four more aces than Houston (11 to seven) and seven less service errors (14 to seven). Both teams had six blocks.

Alex Bower posted her fourth double-double of the year with 42 assists and 14 digs while Claire Little Chambers had her third 20-kill match of the season, finishing with 21. Suli Davis joined her in double figures with 15 kills. Brielle Kemavor tallied six while Anna Blamires and Sophia Callahan both added four.

Lulu Uluave picked up a start in the contest and had both a game- and season-high 16 digs to go along with six assists. Kemavor carded four blocks. Little Chambers and Abby Hoybjerg had two apiece. Uluave served a trio of aces. Little Chambers, Elli Mortensen and Hoybjerg each had two.

Set 1
After a back-and-forth start that saw BYU ahead 6–5, the Cougars broke the set open with a 12–3 run highlighted by four kills from Little Chambers.

Trailing 20–11, Houston put together a short rally to cut the deficit to 22–16, but BYU closed out the set on a kill from Davis to take it 25–17.

Set 2
Houston responded by jumping out to a 3–0 lead to start the second set, but BYU answered with a 5–0 run featuring a pair of kills from Davis. The two teams traded momentum throughout the set, combining for 11 ties and 10 lead changes.

BYU held a 23–20 advantage late, prompting a Houston timeout. Coming out of the break, Houston surged ahead with a 4–0 run to reach set point. BYU fought off the first with back-to-back kills from Callahan and Davis, but Houston closed it out with three-straight points to even the match at one set apiece, 27–25.

Set 3
BYU rebounded to open the third set with two quick points before Houston countered with a 4–0 run. The back-and-forth continued as BYU answered with four straight of its own, two coming from Little Chambers, to go up 6–4. With BYU leading 13–10, the Cougars extended their lead with another 4–0 run, forcing a Houston timeout.

The timeout proved effective as Houston went on a 5–0 run to make it 17–15, but BYU quickly regained momentum with four-straight points featuring kills from Davis, Little Chambers, and Hoybjerg. The two teams traded points the rest of the way, with BYU capturing the set 25–19 to take a 2–1 match lead.

Set 4
A service ace by Hoybjerg opened the fourth set The teams traded points early, resulting in six-consecutive ties to make it 7–7.

A Houston service error, followed by an attacking error and another ace from Hoybjerg, gave BYU the separation it needed, with Houston unable to even the score again.

With the score 21–16, the Cougars closed the match on a 4–1 run that included blocks from Davis and double block by Little chambers and Kemavor, sealing the set 25–17 and the match 3–1.

Up Next
BYU will be back at home next week against No. 8 Arizona State on Thursday, Oct. 16 at 6 p.m. MDT. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.