PROVO, Utah – No. 13 BYU women's volleyball will host Gonzaga and Portland this week in two West Coast Conference matchups.
The Cougars and Bulldogs will play Thursday, Nov. 21, at 7 p.m. MT on the WCC Network. BYU will then take on the Pilots on Saturday, Nov. 23, at 1 p.m. MT on BYUtv.
The Cougars swept Portland (25-20, 25-21, 25-18) and Gonzaga (25-13, 25-13, 25-17) on the road in September. BYU is 16-1 all-time against Portland, including 8-0 at home and 9-0 under Olmstead. BYU has swept the Pilots six-straight times since losing its only match in the series in 2016. The Cougars are 20-1 against Gonzaga, including 9-1 at home and 9-0 under Olmstead with sweeps the last five matches of the series.
BYU comes into the match ranked 13th nationally at 22-4 overall, with the four losses all coming against ranked teams: No. 1 Texas, No. 9 Marquette and No. 20 San Diego. The Cougars also have wins over No. 4 Stanford and No. 16 Utah this year.
The Cougars are led by senior McKenna Miller's 332 kills and 37 aces on the year; her ace total is currently seventh in rally era program history. Freshman setter Whitney Bower has 36 aces with 898 assists and 231 digs while hitting .391 on the season.
In the middle, sophomore Heather Gneiting and junior Kennedy Eschenberg both provide offense and defense for BYU. Gneiting has 191 kills and 120 blocks with 16 aces while Eschenberg is hitting .343 with 166 kills and 113 blocks on the year. On the backline, senior Mary Lake leads the team with 340 digs to go with 20 aces.
After this week, BYU will have a final regular season match on Tuesday, Nov. 26, against Pepperdine at 8 p.m. MT on ESPNU. Following the Thanksgiving holiday, the Cougars will then find out their NCAA Tournament fate on Sunday, Dec. 1, during the tournament selection show, hoping to play in the postseason for the eighth-straight time.