No. 24 BYU sweeps Eastern Illinois in home opener

PROVO, Utah — No. 24 BYU women's volleyball swept Eastern Illinois (25-14, 25-18, 25-22) in its home opener at the Smith Fieldhouse on Thursday night.

BOX SCORE

The Cougars (3-0, 0-0 Big 12) out-served the Panthers 8-1 in aces with junior Elli Mortensen tying her career high of four aces. BYU earned 37 kills to EIU's 26 and achieved a .250 hitting percentage to the visitors' .130.

Mortensen also led the team with 12 kills while senior Claire Little Chambers and freshman Brooke Hardy followed behind with eight and seven, respectively. 

Kaylie Kofe led BYU with 16 assists and Alex Bower contributed 14. Kelli Jo Burgess posted a match high five blocks and Lulu Po'uha led the Cougars with eight digs.

Set 1
After a missed serve from each team to start the game, the Cougars and Panthers traded points, until BYU went on a six-point run, bringing the score to 8-4. Another service error from EIU gave the momentum back to BYU, leading the Cougars to another 2-0 run highlighted by a kill from Little Chambers.

The teams traded points after the Panthers won a challenge, until the technical timeout at 15-11, BYU. The Cougars came out of the break with a kill from Hardy and an ace from Mortensen, forcing a timeout by EIU at 17-12.

Mortensen remained at the service line, leading BYU on a 5-0 run. A block by Little Chambers and Burgess caused another EIU timeout at 23-13. The set ended with a kill from Kate Prior at 25-14.

Set 2
The Cougars opened the second set with a three-point run, including a block by Hardy and Mortensen. The Panthers answered with a three-point run of their own before Sophia Callahan brought the score to 4-3 with a kill. A 6-2 run by the Cougars brought the score to 9-5.

Give and take scoring followed until the technical timeout at 15-11, with BYU still in the lead. EIU came out of the timeout scoring the next two points, but were stopped by a setter dump from Kofe. An attack error by the Panthers caused them to take a timeout at 19-14.

The teams traded points, but as the Cougars' lead grew, the Panthers took their second timeout at 23-16. BYU took the second set at 25-18 after a kill from Mortensen.

Set 3
After the Panthers opened the third set with a 3-1 run, BYU fought to keep up until Mortensen brought the score to 6-3 EIU with a kill. Back and forth scoring allowed the Panthers to maintain their lead, until BYU closed the gap with a 4-1 run, highlighted by an ace by Kofe and another kill by Mortensen.

EIU stayed ahead at the technical timeout, with the score being 15-13. After the timeout, the Cougars brought the score to a tie at 17-17 with a solo block from Burgess. Give and take scoring kept the score close until BYU took the lead at 22-21, highlighted by a kill from Callahan.

A timeout was taken by the Panthers at 23-21 BYU, and the Cougars finished their sweep at 25-22 with a final kill from Mortensen.

Up Next
BYU will take on another team of Panthers, No. 2 Pittsburgh, in the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday, Sept. 4 with the first set beginning at 6:30 p.m. MDT. Streaming will be available on ESPN+.