Match Info
- Gonzaga at #7 BYU (West Coast Conference Match)
- Provo, Utah
- BYU improves to 19-1 (8-0 WCC)
- Attendance: 2,438
- Match Stats
Despite going to extras in set #2, #7 ranked BYU rolled to a convincing sweep of visiting Gonzaga, maintaining their perfect standing in the West Coast Conference this season. Set scores were 25-11, 26-24, and 25-16. Setter Lyndie Haddock had a solid all-around match, collecting 33 assists, 7 digs, a team leading 6 blocks, and 5 kills. In addition, she lead the Cougars’ offense to a .300 hitting efficiency for the match. Veronica Jones-Perry had 15 kills for BYU while middle blockers Cosy Burnett and Kennedy Redding chipped in 10 and 7 kills respectively. Mary Lake paced the defense with 21 kills. BYU improves to 19-1 (8-0 WCC) on the season and will return to the court when they travel to Malibu on October 19th to face Pepperdine.
BYU lead the match in hitting efficiency .300 to .128, kills 44-36, blocks 10.5 – 6, aces 3-2, and assists 39-34.
Gonzaga was led by Sarah Penner who had 10 kills on the match, while Chapin Gray collected 9 kills. Jenna Kuehn had a solid match with 5 kills, 11 assists, and 4 digs. Tiyana Hallums led the defense with 18 digs. With the loss, Gonzaga drops to 11-9 (6-2 WCC) and will return to action on October 21st when they travel to Portland.
Press Release:
Courtesy of BYU Athletics
PROVO, Utah – The play of middle blockers Cosy Burnett and Kennedy Redding helped lead No. 7 BYU women’s volleyball past Gonzaga in straight sets (25-11, 26-24, 25-16) Saturday afternoon at the Smith Fieldhouse.
“I thought we served really well today and that helped us get some great touches on the block,” BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. “Gonzaga made some changes in the second set and we had to show some fight, which was awesome to see. For the second match in a row we passed well. I’m really proud of the improvement there.”
Burnett contributed 10 kills, five blocks and two service aces while Redding had seven kills and five blocks. Lyndie Haddock ended the match with 33 assists, and Mary Lake added 21 digs. Veronica Jones-Perry collected a match-high 15 kills in the win.
The Cougars (19-1, 8-0 West Coast Conference) got off to a strong start in the first set as back-to-back-to-back Jones-Perry kills kept BYU ahead at 7-2. The Cougars later went on an 8-0 run, with help from several errors by Gonzaga (11-9, 6-2 WCC) and kills by Sara Hamson, Haddock and Jones-Perry to take a 22-9 advantage. BYU won the set 25-11 with another kill from Haddock.
The teams stayed within two points of each other until a Bulldog kill pushed Gonzaga ahead 12-9, forcing a Cougar timeout. Burnett then tied up the set at 14-all following consecutive kills. The Bulldogs had set point at 24-23, but another kill from Burnett evened the score at 24 apiece. Jones-Perry then finished the match with two more kills to give BYU the closet 26-24 set win.
Jones-Perry opened the third set with a kill, helping the Cougars to a 5-0 start. A kill from McKenna Miller made it 15-9, and Burnett expanded the Cougar lead to 19-15 with another pair of back-to-back kills. BYU finished the set on a 6-0 run to win the match 25-16.
The Cougars face Pepperdine next on the road Thursday, Oct. 19, at 7:00 p.m. PDT, at Firestone Fieldhouse. The match will be streamed live on TheW.tv. Links to live stats and the video feed can be found on the BYU women’s volleyball schedule page.
Press Release:
Courtesy of Gonzaga Athletics
PROVO, Utah–The Gonzaga volleyball team once again faced a highly-ranked opponent Saturday afternoon, falling in three sets (25-11, 26-24, 25-16) to No. 7 BYU in Provo, Utah.
Despite the sweep, Gonzaga came close to taking a set off BYU. The second set was by far the closest of the match, seeing 12 tie scores and six lead changes. The Bulldogs led for much of the latter half of the frame, even holding a set point after Jenna Kuehn landed a kill to go up 23-24. BYU, however, answered three straight kills to clinch the set. Three of Gonzaga’s six blocks came during the third set, and they hit a match-high .238 as a team.
Defensively, the Zags dug up 50 attacks, third-most in a three-set match this season. Junior Tiyana Hallums led the team with 18 digs, and fellow junior Faith Smith was one shy of double-digits at nine. She did lead the way with 18 assists, however. Freshman Sarah Penner landed 10 kills for the 11th time this season, and fellow freshman Chapin Gray was one back at nine.
BYU, ranked seventh in the nation by the AVCA, was Gonzaga’s second consecutive ranked opponent; the Bulldogs took on No. 18 San Diego on Oct. 12. This weekend was the first time all season the Bulldogs lined up against a ranked team.
“They [the Gonzaga players] learned how to adjust their game and their comfort level,” said Gonzaga head coach Diane Nelson about playing two of the top teams in the nation. “We challenged them to take risks, try new things, and those aspects worked! They just need to stay consistent.”
Gonzaga (11-9, 6-2 WCC) has one match next weekend: a Saturday, Oct. 21 showdown at Portland. That match between the two West Coast Conference squads in the Pacific Northwest will begin at 1:00 p.m. in Portland, Ore.
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