PROVO -- For the first time since 2005 the BYU women’s volleyball team (7-12, 2-3 MWC) recorded its fourth-consecutive sweep of the season Thursday with a victory over conference foe Air Force (2-18, 0-8 MWC) at Elaine Michaelis Court.
Despite establishing an early 2-0 lead in games, the Cougars fell behind the Falcons in game three 22-20 before rallying back to a set point after an Air Force attack error. Sophomore rightside hitter Kimberli Boswell completed the game-three comeback with her first career service ace.
“It feels great that we are starting to turn things around,” BYU head coach Shay Goulding said. “We’re not playing any more physical than we have been, but we are putting it together mentally and I’m happy to see that.”
The Cougars held the Falcons to a -.013 hitting percentage, recording eight team blocks to stop the Falcon offense. Junior outside hitter Christie Carpenter and senior middle blocker Stephanie Snow led the offense, recording eight kills each, fueled by sophomore Heather Hannemann’s 15 sets.
The Cougars jumped out to an early 10-2 lead after junior outside hitter Christie Carpenter rallied for five-consecutive points behind the service line. BYU didn’t look back as junior middle blocker Nicole Warner recorded four kills to give the Cougars a 25-17 win and a one-game lead.
The Cougar defense took over in game two, recording five team blocks and 15 team digs. Senior middle blocker Stephanie Snow and Carpenter led the offense with two kills each as BYU recorded eight kills on 19 attempts.
BYU returns to Elaine Michaelis Court on Saturday as they take on UNLV at 7 p.m. The first 250 fans receive a free pink BYU T-shirt in promotion of breast cancer awareness and fans who wear pink will be admitted for one dollar.