No. 17 Cougars fall in five to No. 19 Bears

WACO, Texas — No. 17 BYU women’s volleyball dropped a five-set match at No. 19 Baylor (15-25, 25-22, 25-21, 16-25, 8-15) at the Ferrell Center on Thursday night.

BOX SCORE

The Cougars (16-4, 4-4 Big 12) were both out-hit (.279 to .214) and out-blocked (10 to eight) by the Bears in a contest that went 2 hours and 21 minutes and saw 12 ties and five lead changes. Baylor also had 15 more kills (70 to 55), 14 more digs (87 to 73) and three more aces (six to three).

BYU was led by Suli Davis, who had 21 kills and was a dig shy of a double-double. Brielle Kemavor followed, tying a career high with 18 kills on a .469 clip. Claire Little Chambers added eight, and Sophia Callahan had six, hitting .375.

Alex Bower finished with 44 assists. Emma Barbero tallied 20 digs, Lulu Uluave tied her season high with 16, and Little Chambers had 15. Kemavor posted seven blocks, a match high that also tied her season high in stuffs.

Set 1
Trailing 3-0, BYU drew within one at 5-4 and 6-5, but would take both of its timeouts amidst a pair of 5-0 Baylor runs. The Cougars and Bears would trade points from there, with BU pulling away in the 25-15 opening set win.

Set 2
BYU opened up a 5-1 lead thanks to kills from Kemavor and Davis before the duo teamed up for a double block, forcing a Baylor timeout. The two teams then went back-and-forth until the Cougars called timeout during a 4-0 Baylor span.

Trading points once more, an overpass kill by Davis put BYU ahead 18-14, and Baylor took its second timeout. Little Chambers scored off the block igniting a 4-0 run that also saw a Hannah Billeter ace, but the Cougars took their second timeout after three straight from the Bears, at 22-18.

Kills by Callahan and Kemavor gave BYU set point, which the Cougars closed out a point later on a BU service error, 25-22.

Set 3
Going back-and-forth early, BYU took a timeout as Baylor doubled up the Cougars, 10-5. Kills by Davis and Kemavor sandwiched a Callahan ace and the Bears called timeout at 13-10.

A solo stuff by Kemavor drew BYU within one, and an eventual 3-0 run, capped off by a cross-court Little Chambers kill, forced a Baylor timeout at 17-17. After ties at 18 and 19, the Cougars gained some separation on kills by Callahan and Kemavor.

Davis got BYU set point and the Cougars finished the set on a 4-1 run as part of a 6-2 span with Kemavor scoring on the right side off the block to take a 2-1 lead in the match, 25-21.

Set 4
BYU opened up a 5-2 lead on kills by Little Chambers, Kemavor and Davis, as well as a Kemavor-Bower double block, forcing an early BU timeout. The Cougars weathered one 3-0 by Baylor, but a 5-1 span after that had the Bears leading 13-10, and BYU took a timeout.

Baylor took three of the next four from there, and the Cougars called their second timeout trailing 16-11. BYU answered with a 3-0 run, but the Bears responded with five straight before a swinging kill by Bower. Baylor would take four of the final five points, however, forcing a fifth and final set, 25-16.

Set 5
Kemavor pushed the Cougars to a 3-1 lead with a pair of kills and double block with Davis, but six straight, spanning a BYU timeout, had the Bears in front, 6-3.

A 4-0 Baylor run, spanning the Cougars’ second timeout, made it 11-5. BYU fought back on kills by Kemavor and Little Chambers, but a 3-0 run gave the Bears match point, which they finished off a play later, 15-8.

Up Next
The Cougars will make the trip north to face No. 10 TCU on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 1 p.m. CDT on ESPN+.