Little Chambers nets 1,000th kill as No. 25 BYU takes down UCLA in five-set thriller

PROVO, Utah — No. 25 BYU women’s volleyball outlasted UCLA in a five-set thriller (25-15, 22-25, 25-17, 20-25, 15-10) at an electric Smith Fieldhouse on Friday night.

BOX SCORE

The Cougars (5-1, 0-0 Big 12) hit .199 compared to the Bruins’ .156, leading the kills category 61-55. BYU also bested UCLA in digs, 56-50, while UCLA recorded just one more block than BYU, 14-13. 

Elli Mortensen led the way with a team-high 16 kills, while Claire Little Chambers threw down 13 kills and 13 digs for her second duble-double of the season and 16th of her career.

The senior outside hitter recorded the 1,000th kill of her career in the third set. Little Chambers is the 24th BYU player all-time to join the 1,000 kill club and 10th in the rally-scoring era.

Sophia Callahan notched 12 kills and a career-high six blocks while Kelli Jo Burgess added seven kills on a blistering .467 hitting percentage and Alex Bower lined up 31 assists on the night.

Burgess also sent back 10 total blocks, one shy of her career high and the most by a Cougar in a single game since 2024.

Set 1 
The Cougars started the game strong, logging their first point via a kill from middle blocker Burgess. A pin perfect cross-court set from Bower then set up a Mortensen kill through the arms of three UCLA blockers, giving the Cougars the early edge 3-1.

BYU extended its lead to 8-4 via a double outside block from Burgess and Callahan. The Cougars led 13-9 after back-to-back free passes from UCLA were punished by kills from Mortensen and Brooke Hardy. A successful BYU challenge saw Kate Prior record her first kill of the match at 14-9.

The very next play, Little Chambers recorded a kill, flying in from the back row and forcing a UCLA timeout. Another double block from Burgess and Prior cushioned the BYU lead, pushing it to 19-12. Burgess finished the set just as she started it, recording her team-high fourth kill to put the Bruins away 25-15.

Set 2
BYU quickly jumped out to another early lead, 5-2, following kills from Callahan and Mortensen. UCLA swiftly drew even with a rally of their own, rattling off a kill and block to level the game at five apiece.

The Cougars saw their first deficit of the night, going down 10-7. An ace by Lulu Po'uha capped off a three-point swing that put BYU back level 12-12. The Cougars were unable to regain the advantage and found themselves down 18-14 after UCLA stood tall defensively.

The Bruin lead evaporated after a pair of unforced errors put the Cougars back in the game at 21 all. UCLA immediately rallied, winning two straight points, putting it up 23-21 and the pressure back on the Cougars. BYU staved off one set point, cutting it to 24-22, but couldn’t hold off the Bruins and further, dropping the set 25-22. 

Set 3
The Cougars got out to a 4-0 lead, following up back-to-back kills from Callahan and Mortensen with a block from Hardy. Little Chambers joined the party with two massive kills from the back row, extending the Cougars lead to 6-1.

BYU found it footing defensively, recording five blocks in the first half of the set, paving the way to a 14-7 lead. The Cougars continued to grow the lead, shutting down any sort of attempted rally by UCLA.

Little Chambers’ ace from the service line cushioned the Cougars lead 21-15. She then paired it with a kill a couple points later to set up a BYU set point. A missed hit from the Bruins went wide and gave the Cougars the third set victory, putting them up two sets to one on the night. 

Set 4
Mortensen opened the fourth set for the Cougars with three kills to keep the Cougars close early at 4-3. A free pass was quickly killed by Burgess to tie the game up at seven. UCLA responded with a two-point rally, regaining the lead 9-7 and forcing a BYU timeout.

A Hardy kill stopped a four-point UCLA run as BYU found itself down 15-9. Little Chambers added to her tally with two more kills to cut the deficit to 17-12, while also surpassing 1,000 kills for her career. BYU’s fourth block of the set came from Burgess and cut deeper into the Bruin lead at 17-14.

UCLA responded with a run of its own, capitalizing on an unforced error by the Cougars, extending its lead to 20-15. BYU clawed its way back, cutting the lead to 23-20 after an ace from Kaylie Kofe. The Cougars, however, couldn’t find their way back, losing the set 25-20. 

Set 5
Anna Blamires started the scoring for the Cougars with a kill to tie it up at 1-1. A UCLA attempted return went long and Jo Burgess finished off the kill to put BYU up 3-2. Callahan saved a point with a spectacular dig that led to a Mortensen kill to put the Cougars up 5-4.

A crucial Kofe ace gave the Cougars a two-point advantage, 8-6. Back-to-back UCLA hits went long, gave BYU a 10-6 advantage and forced UCLA into a timeout to regroup. A Mortensen kill stymied a UCLA run giving the Cougars a 11-8 lead.

Little Chambers pushed the Cougars ever closer at 13-10 with her 12th kill of the night. Bower ended any hope of a Bruin comeback with a punishing ace, taking the fifth set 15-10, winning the match three sets to two.

Up Next
BYU will host in-state foe Utah Valley at the Smith Fieldhouse on Tuesday, Sept. 15, with the opening set slated to start at 6 p.m. MDT on ESPN+.