MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — No. 19 BYU women’s volleyball dropped a five-set match to West Virginia (24-26, 25-14, 23-25, 25-19, 13-15) at Hope Coliseum on Friday night.
Despite double-doubles from both Alex Bower and Claire Little Chambers for the second-straight match, the Cougars (14-2, 2-2 Big 12) came up short in just their second five-set match this season and first in over a month.
BYU out-hit West Virginia .201 to .156 and recorded six (60 to 54) more kills than WVU. The Cougars also had 11 aces to the Mountaineers’ one, but had seven (15 to eight) more service errors and were out-blocked, 12-11 and out-dug, 65 to 60.
Bower finished with 37 assists and 16 digs while Little Chambers posted 18 kills and 12 digs. Suli Davis added a team-high 20 kills. Emma Barbero tallied 13 digs and seven assists. Brielle Kemavor carded a team-high six blocks. Abby Hoybjerg had five.
Set 1
Little Chambers and Davis tallied two kills apiece, while Kemavor recorded three blocks in the early going as the two teams traded points, with West Virginia leading 15-14 at the media timeout.
After a pair of Little Chambers kills, the Mountaineers pushed their lead to 19-17 and BYU took its first timeout. Out of the break, the Cougars tied the opening set at 19, 20 and 21 thanks to a pair of Sophia Callahan kills.
Then down 23-21, BYU called its second timeout. Earning a tie at 23, one of q5 in the frame, after a Davis kill and Callahan ace, WVU took a timeout. The Cougars fought off set point twice, but consecutive errors gave West Virginia the set, 26-24.
Set 2
Davis, Callahan and Hoybjerg all pitched in as BYU doubled up on the Mountaineers early, forcing a timeout at 12-6. Hoybjerg got in on a pair of blocks, but WVU answered the Cougars’ 5-0 span with three straight, making it 14-9.
Kemavor, Davis and Little Chambers got BYU back on track as the Cougars forced West Virginia’s second timeout leading 20-14. Two Emma Barbero aces kept the BYU run going, and the Cougars closed the set on a 8-0 run with a Bower kill picking up a 25-14 win.
Set 3
BYU received productivity from both of its outsides and middles, pacing to a 15-14 lead at the media timeout. Kills by Little Chambers and Callahan sandwiched a Little Chambers ace, beginning a nine-point span where the two teams called both of their timeouts.
Surrendering eight ties in the frame, BYU did not trail for the second-straight set until 24-23, WVU. The Mountaineers closed the set on a 3-0 run and 7-3 span, earning a 25-23 win.
Set 4
Trading points in the early going, Barbero’s third ace of the contest capped off a 4-0 run that forced a West Virginia timeout at 9-4. Aces by Bower and Little Chambers sandwiched a Hoybjerg-Callahan block, at the Mountaineers took their second timeout at 15-6.
After five straight by WVU, BYU’s advantage was cut to four and it took a timeout. The Cougars remained in front, with a Kemavor block, Anna Blamires kill and Little Chambers-Hoybjerg double stuff pacing them to a 25-19 win, forcing a fifth and final set.
Set 5
West Virginia raced out to a 5-2 lead, forcing a BYU timeout. The Cougars fought back, scoring five of six out of the break, including a 3-0 run capped off by an Elli Mortensen ace that forced a Mountaineer timeout at 7-7.
Trailing 9-7, BYU earned a tie at 10 on a Bower ace and another tie at 11 thanks to a WVU service error but called timeout down 13-11. A Davis kill fought off match point once, but a Cougar service error sealed the five-set loss, 15-12.
Up Next
BYU has a single-game week next week, hosting Houston in a Saturday afternoon match on Oct. 11 at 1 p.m. MDT on ESPN+.