PROVO, Utah—Gearing up for the rematch, the BYU women’s volleyball team will face Saint Mary’s Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse to open conference play.
“We’re excited to start our inaugural season in the West Coast Conference,” BYU head coach Shawn Olmsead said. “Saint Mary’s is a wonderful volleyball program. It will be a good test for us come Thursday night.”
The Cougars (11-3) rebounded after a loss to Cal State Fullerton for a 3-1 win against Cal State Northridge Saturday. Saint Mary’s (6-6) comes to Provo after a 3-1 loss to Kansas State in the Saint Mary’s Tournament Saturday. BYU defeated Kansas State in the Varney’s Invitational Sept. 3 in a 3-0 sweep for the tournament title.
In the teams’ last outing, Saint Mary’s pulled away with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 31-29) victory, causing a three-way tie for second place in the BYU Nike Invitational.
Leading the Cougars, opposite hitter Jennifer Hamson passed 200 season kills against CSUN, averaging 14.42 per match. The sophomore also has 130 digs at 2.77 per set and 52 blocks. Over the weekend, Hamson recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 16 kills and 13 digs against CSUN.
Junior libero Heather Hannemann continues to be a strong presence on the court with 10.62 assists per game for a season total of 499. Hannemann contributes 2.43 digs per set.
With 78 blocks, Nicole Warner heads the BYU defense. Warner also put up 13 kills at .650 hitting in the win against Utah State and recorded 17 total blocks in the last three matches.
Lauren Corp leads the Gael offense with 162 kills at 3.45 per set. During the last matchup against BYU, Corp recorded 13 kills and six digs. Corp is joined on offense by Gabby Jolly with 2.24 kills per set. Jolly also leads in blocking with .96 per set and Sarah Reams leads in digs with 3.70 per set.
Thursday is “Jersey Night” at Elaine Michaelis Court. Fans are encouraged to wear their favorite jersey.
Due to the Jimmer’s All-Stars game at the Marriott Center Thursday night, the volleyball match will air on BYUtv at 10 p.m. that night. The match will still be streamed live online.
For links to live stats and video streaming, click HERE.