PROVO, Utah — Coming off a sweep at Boise State, No. 25 BYU women's volleyball hosts UCLA at the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday night.
First serve between the Cougars and Bruins will come at 6:30 p.m. MT.
| No. 25 BYU vs. UCLA | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Time | Stream | Live Stats |
| Friday, Sept. 11 | 6:30 p.m. MDT | ESPN+ | StatBroadcast |
BYU dropped a spot in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll after splitting its matches last week. The Cougars swept Eastern Illinois in their home opener before dropping a four-set match to No. 2 Pittsburgh.
Hitting a season-high .400 in its sweep of the Broncos on Tuesday night, BYU had nine different Cougars recording a kill. Claire Little Chambers (12 kills, .435) and Elli Mortensen (10 kills, .333) combined for 22 kills on a .386 clip in the contest.
Kate Prior (eight kills), Brooke Hardy (seven kills), Kylie Buttars (six kills), Kelli Jo Burgess (five kills) Anna Blamires (two kills), Lulu Po'uha (one kill) and Kaylie Kofe (one kill) joined the pair of pins in the box score.
Setters Alex Bower and Kofe each tallied 18 assists, with Bower (10 digs) turning in her first double-double of the season. Po'uha finished with a team-high 11 digs and also recorded a career-high eight assists.
Hardy led the team with five blocks, including one solo stuff, both tying career highs. Prior and Burgess both added four.
Through five matches, the Cougars have six hitters in double figures: Little chambers (58 kills), Mortensen (41), Hardy (35), Prior (34), Callahan (30) and Burgess (29).
BYU's middles lead the team in hitting percentage, with Burgess at .462 and Hardy posting a .444 clip. Kofe (5.37) and Bower (5.16) are both averaging over five assists per set.
Po'uha's 48 digs and 2.53 dig per set average are both team highs, as are Burgess' 32 total blocks a 1.68 block per set average.
Mortensen and Burgess represent the Cougars in the NCAA's statistical rankings, with Burgess' 1.68 blocks per set in the top 10 at No. 9 in the country and second in the Big 12. Mortensen's 0.75 aces per set rank No. 14 nationally and third in the Conference.
Preparing to meet UCLA for the 31st time in series history, BYU welcomes the Bruins to Provo for the first time since 2004.
UCLA (4-1, 0-0 Big Ten)
- The Bruins have a pair of wins over both Long Beach State and Miami.
- UCLA plays at Utah State on Wednesday night before coming down to Provo.
- Head coach Matt Werle is in his first season in Westwood. He spent the last 10 seasons as the head coach of Grand Canyon's men's team, where he went 161-94 (.631) with the Lopes.
- BYU trails the all-time series, 6-24, and is 1-6 against the Bruins at home. Cougar head coach Rob Neilson went 1-0 against UCLA during his six seasons at Utah State, beating the No. 12 Bruins in 2022.
Up Next
BYU begins its in-state slate next week, facing Utah Valley, Weber State and Utah State on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.