#10 BYU Bests Boise State in Straight Sets

MATCH STATS

• #10 BYU defeats Boiste State (25-11, 25-23, 25-18)
• Team Records: BYU (7-0), Boise State (5-3)

RECAP

Although the BYU Cougars won the match against the Boise State Broncos in straight sets, the last two sets, in particular, were well fought by Boise State. The match was BYU’s first and Boise State’s second in the Idaho State Invitational.

Freshman McKenna Miller led BYU offensively with 17 kills and a .324 attack percentage. Boise State was led by Sierra Nobley with 11 kills and a .059 hitting percentage. BYU’s Lyndie Haddock contributed all 31 of her team’s assists, and Boise State Freshman Cassedi Simon had 30 assists. BYU’s team hitting percentage was .318, while Boise State’s was .129.

Defensively, Whitney Howard was BYU’s standout player with 1 solo block and 4 assisted blocks. Mary Lake had 11 digs for BYU, which was the highest total of the match. Boise State relied on Maddy O’Donnell with one solo block and 1 assisted block, and Maddi Osburn who tallied 9 digs. Janell Walley also had 6 digs for the Broncos. As a team, BYU totaled 9 blocks and 30 digs, while Boise State had 4 blocks and 30 digs.

Both BYU and Boise State will have to face #35 Missouri up next in the Idaho State Invitational.

PRESS RELEASES

Courtesy of BYU Athletics:

POCATELLO, Idaho – Freshman McKenna Miller helped No. 10 BYU women’s volleyball to a three-set (25-11, 25-23, 25-18) victory against Boise State Friday night at Reed Gym.

“I think we did a good job offensively today,” BYU head coachHeather Olmstead said. “Our block got some great touches and slowed down a good Boise State offense.”

Miller led the Cougars with 17 kills while hitting a .324 clip.Lyndie Haddock contributed 31 assists while Mary Lake added a match-high 11 digs. Whitney Young Howard chipped in five blocks in the win.

BYU (7-0) got its first points of the first set against Boise State (5-3) from a pair of Amy Boswell kills. A trio of Miller kills then extended the Cougars’ advantage to three at 6-3. The teams traded points from there as the Broncos stayed within three, trailing 11-8. With Veronica Jones-Perry at the service line, BYU went on a 6-0 run to inch ahead 18-10. The Cougars finished on a 6-1 run, capped off by a Haddock ace, to take the set 25-11.

Boise State jumped out to a 4-2 lead to start the second set after multiple kills. BYU soon after used a 5-0 run to take a 9-6 advantage, forcing a Bronco timeout. The two sides battled back-and-forth from there until Boise State tied the set at 12-all following a kill. The Cougars slowly worked back a three-point lead at 19-16 following a Lacy Haddock kill. A kill from Miller gave BYU set point and a block from Howard and Jones-Perry ended the close set 25-23 in the Cougars’ favor.

The Broncos once again got off to a hot start in the third set, taking a 3-0 lead after a trio of kills. BYU worked to tie the set at 6-6 following a Lacy Haddock kill, but Boise State took the next three points to gain a 9-6 edge. The Cougars countered with a 5-1 run to take their first lead of the set at 11-10. The set stayed close from there as a Bronco kill kept them within two, down 16-14. After a Boise State timeout, BYU was able to cruise to a 25-18 set three win after multiple Bronco attack errors.

The Cougars return to action at Reed Gym Saturday, Sept. 10, beginning at noon MDT against Missouri. They will finish out the Idaho State Invitational against the host team later that night at 7 p.m. MDT. Links to live stats and a video feed for the Idaho State match can be found on the BYU women’s volleyball schedule page.

Courtesy of Boise State Athletics:

POCATELLO, Idaho – Boise State volleyball ended up on the short end of a 3-0 score Friday afternoon in a loss to 10th-ranked BYU at the Idaho State Invitational in Pocatello. Sierra Nobley led Boise State with 11 kills, while Sabryn Roberts, Janell Walley and Maddy O’Donnell each added seven. The Broncos struggled hitting throughout the contest finishing at 12.9 percent, meanwhile BYU hit 31.8 percent.

The loss snapped Boise State’s four match win streak as the Broncos moved to 5-3 overall with a match versus 35th-ranked Missouri on the slate for Saturday afternoon. BYU remained perfect on the year at 7-0.

“I thought we had some freshmen step up today in Janell Walley and Cassedi Simon,” head coach Shawn Garus said. “I was pleased with how Cassedi responded during her first career start, while Walley was consistent for us. We knew BYU was a really good team coming in and that we would need to play our best to beat them. We just did not have it today. Now we have to learn from this experience and prepare for a very good Missouri team tomorrow.”

Nobley finished the day with 11 kills, five digs and two blocks for 12 points. O’Donnell followed with 9.5 points on seven kills, one service ace, one block solo and one block assist.

Walley had a good night hitting as she recorded a team-best 42.9 percent for seven kills to go with one ace, five digs and one block assist.  Roberts finished with seven kills and three digs.

Cassedi Simon played well in her first start and first match seeing alot of time on the court. The freshman from West Liberty, Iowa, finished with 29 assists, two kills and three digs against the 10th-ranked team in the country.

The Broncos hit a season-low 12.9 percent for 38 kills off 36 assists against BYU. Boise State also tallied three service aces, 30 digs and four blocks.

BYU hit a good 31.8 percent against the Broncos with 36 kills off of 31 assists. The Cougars recorded seven service aces, 30 digs and nine blocks in their win. McKenna Miller led BYU with 17 kills and one block.