BYU women's volleyball opens the season with Blue-White scrimmage

PROVO, Utah — No. 24 BYU women’s volleyball opened its season with a Blue-White scrimmage at the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon. 

The Cougars had several strong performances by their hitters, including 17 kills each from seniors Sophia Callahan and Claire Little Chambers. Freshman Brooke Hardy had an impressive debut with 16 kills and a hitting percentage of .455. Senior Kate Prior contributed 10 kills during the four-set match. 

Junior Alex Bower and transfer Kaylie Kofe both dished out 35 assists, and sophomore Grace Fredrick added 19 assists. Anna Blamires, Kylie Buttars, Kaylie Tingey, Rachel Jepsen and Alex Bower each had one ace throughout the scrimmage.

Set 1
Both teams came out strong in the first match, showing evenly matched performances for the first several points. Hardy highlighted the blue team with several kills and blocks.

The white team maintained the lead throughout the set, but the blue team went on a couple runs to keep the score close. After consecutive attack errors by the blue team, the white team took the first set, 25-19. 

Set 2
Despite the blue team winning the first point, the white team gained an early lead with a 4-0 run. The blue team responded with a 5-1 run of their own, led by Blamires at the service line. The white team took back the lead at 9-8, highlighted by an ace and a kill from Callahan.

The white team maintained its lead until the blue team came back to tie the score at 18-18. Hardy had several kills and Kofe had a notable setter dump to gain momentum on the blue team.

Both teams traded points until Callahan ended the set with a kill, helping the white team win their second set, 25-23.

Set 3
A few players swapped teams prior to the third set as the blue team took the first point once again. The first few points were back and forth, with transfer Kelli Jo Burgess bringing the score to 2-2 with a kill. 

The white team went on a 3-0 run led by Callahan at the service line, making the score 6-3. Prior kept the score close with a big kill, bringing the score to 11-10 with white in the lead. The white team maintained its lead the remainder of the set, ending its third win with a score of 25-16.

Set 4
After taking the first point in the final set, the white team went on a short run, being stopped by a setter dump from Bower who brought the score to 5-4. Jepsen on the blue team brought the score to a tie at 7-7 with a kill. 

The white team went on a couple of runs, but an ace from Buttars helped to keep the score close at 17-15 white. The final score was 25-21, with the white team ending the day with a four-set sweep.

Up Next
The Cougars will take on Utah Tech in an exhibition match on Saturday, Aug. 22 at noon MT in the Smith Fieldhouse.