LOGAN, Utah—In-state rival Utah State couldn’t keep up with the BYU women’s volleyball team as they plowed through the Aggies 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-19) on the road to continue a nine-match win streak, Tuesday, at Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
"We're excited to come up here and win this match," BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. "We didn't have our 'A' game, but we feel good about the win and we'll keep grinding away and getting better after quite a few mistakes tonight."
Junior middle blocker Nicole Warner and sophomore opposite hitter Jennifer Hamson totaled the most kills for the Cougars (10-2) with 13 apiece on .650 hitting from Warner and .290 from Hamson. Hamson also led in blocks with seven, setting a season high for total blocks and tying her career block assists record while also contributing nine digs. Libero Kendalyn Hartsock set a new season high with 23 digs and outside hitter Christie Carpenter tied her season high with 12.
Warner led the charge in the first set, knocking down seven kills on .778 hitting and recording two blocks. Warner put up the Cougars’ first two points, getting them on the board after Utah State (4-7) scored on two BYU errors. BYU came back for a 6-6 tie and took its first lead of the set 9-8. A Utah State kill from Shay Sorensen and BYU error put the Aggies back in the lead at 16-15. Four more ties and three more lead changes followed, with the Cougars pulling away for the 25-22 win on a Warner kill.
After back-and-forth scoring to begin the second set, the Cougars took a two-point lead with the help of a kill from Kathryn LeCheminant. BYU maintained that lead to the end of the set. Three times the Aggies tried to creep closer and brought the score within one, but kills by Hamson and Carpenter prevented any more ties. The Cougars took the set 25-21.
The Aggies proved tough to shake off in the final set, but the Cougars protected their lead for all but two points of the game when Utah State went up 9-8. An error brought the score back to a 9-9 tie and Carpenter threw down a kill to steal back the lead for BYU 10-9. The Cougars finished off the match with a 6-0 run, closing the set with a 25-19 score.
The Cougars continue their cruise through the regular season with matchups against Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Northridge in California on Friday at 7 p.m. PT and Saturday at 1 p.m. PT, respectively.