PROVO, Utah — No. 5 BYU women’s volleyball overpowered Pepperdine for the second time this season (25-15, 25-17, 25-8) in the Smith Fieldhouse on Thursday.
This is BYU’s 17th consecutive win, upping the team’s overall record to 24-1. Additionally, the Cougars remain undefeated in the WCC at 14-0.
In each set, BYU collected more kills than Pepperdine, who is currently ranked No. 1 in the West Coast Conference for team kills (1,091). The Cougars boasted 42 kills compared to the Waves’ 24.
BYU ranks No.1 in the NCAA for opponent hitting percentage, holding Pepperdine to a .008 clip and 24 attack errors. Meanwhile, the Cougars posted a .354 clip and only eight attack errors.
At the top of the leaderboard offensively, Pepperdine’s Rachel Ahrens laid down 13 kills. This past Monday, the WCC dubbed her Offensive Player of the Week. BYU senior outside hitter Taylen Ballard-Nixon trailed close behind with 11 kills. Seven of her kills came in the final set of the night.
“I think we played really well offensively and defensively,” Ballard-Nixon said. “All around, we did our jobs and we had an overall great game.”
Junior setter Whitney Bower achieved a double-double with her 31 assists and 11 digs. Defensively, both graduate opposite hitter Kenzie Koerber and graduate middle blocker Kennedy Eschenberg put up four blocks. Eschenberg shined offensively as well, notching nine kills with a .643 clip.
SET ONE
The teams stayed close, tying four times by 4-4. Eschenberg, Koerber and junior middle blocker Heather Gneiting all contributed kills. An attack error by the Waves and a kill by Ballard-Nixon gave BYU a two-point lead at 6-4. Pepperdine’s Grace Chillingworth hit two consecutive kills, but another four Cougar kills maintained BYU’s slight lead at 10-7.
This momentum contributed to a 4-0 run by BYU. However, it ended with Pepperdine’s Ahrens notching her fourth kill of the set. The teams went from trading kills to trading attack errors until a kill by Ballard-Nixon at 18-11.
Ultimately, a final kill by Koerber and a .323 clip overpowered Pepperdine’s .026. BYU took the set-win at 25-15.
SET TWO
The teams matched their pattern from set one, tying four times by 4-4 once again. Every time BYU attempted to widen the gap, Pepperdine closed it, tying at 7-7, 9-9 and 10-10.
The set shifted after sophomore outside hitter Erin Livingston’s fourth kill of the set. This kill started the Cougars on a 5-0 run, featuring two aces by graduate libero Aria McComber. This extended BYU’s lead to 17-11.
Pepperdine’s Ahrens followed the run with three quick kills, bringing her kill count to 11 for the night. Ballard-Nixon battled back with two kills of her own. In the end, final kills from Bower, Gneiting and Livingston secured BYU the set-win at 25-17.
SET THREE
BYU quickly racked up three kills from Koerber, Eschenberg and Ballard-Nixon. Pepperdine followed with three kills of its own, two being from Ahrens.
The Cougars challenged with a 13-0 run, including three kills by Ballard-Nixon and two aces by Koerber. This is BYU’s second match in a row with a 13-0 run in the final set.
A BYU attack error broke the run at 17-5. Pepperdine managed a 3-0 run, but failed to catch up. Two final kills by Eschenberg and three attack errors by the Waves gave BYU its sixth consecutive sweep at 25-8.
BYU's next match will take place on Saturday, Nov. 13 against Loyola Marymount. The match will begin at 1 p.m. MST and will be available on BYUtv. This will be the last regular season game to take place in the Smith Fieldhouse and this year’s seniors will be recognized prior to the game.