BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The BYU women’s volleyball team battled against No. 25 Creighton in a 3-1 (25-22, 20-25, 19-25, 15-25) loss during the team’s season opener on Friday, the first match of the Hampton Inn Invitational.

“It was good to finally get out and compete,” BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “We played really well during the first set, but our passing fell apart after that. We lost our composure and allowed them to control the match.”

Sophomore Alexa Gray and junior Tambre Haddock led the Cougars with 11 kills each. Sophomore Camry Godfrey supported at setter with 33 assists and junior Tia Withers Welling led the back row with 12 digs. Senior Kathryn LeCheminant led the Cougars in the front with four blocks.

Both teams took turns exchanging points in the beginning of the first set before BYU went on a 9-1 run to take a 13-4 lead. Creighton battled back late in the set, coming within two points of BYU at 24-22. Amy Boswell ended the rally with a kill to give the cougars a 25-23 win.

Creighton took a quick 2-0 lead in the second set before BYU was able to battle back to tie the score at 7-7. The Bluejays then went on a quick 4-0 run, forcing a Cougar timeout. A pair of kills by senior Kathryn LeCheminant got BYU back in the set, allowing the Cougars to get within two points, 13-11. It wasn’t enough to stop Creighton, as the Bluejays went on to take the set 25-20.

The third set brought a battle of kills early on as both teams exchanged points, tying the set 6-6. BYU fell behind soon after at 20-13 on the heels of a 7-1 run by Creighton. The Cougars tried to stage a comeback after two timeouts, but they fell short as the Bluejays took the third set 25-19.

The Cougars’ only lead of the final set came with a Boswell kill to starts things off. BYU couldn’t contain its errors as Creighton began to pull away with a seven-point lead on BYU, 14-7. The Bluejays didn’t look back as they took the set 25-15.

The Cougars meet Marquette in the second match on Day 2 of the Hampton Inn Invitational on Saturday. The two teams face off at 12:30 p.m. EDT. Live stats are available for the match on the schedule page. BYU will also face invitational host Bowling Green State on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. EDT.

PROVO, Utah – In its third season under head coach Shawn Olmstead, BYU women’s volleyball heads to Bowling Green, Ohio, for the Hampton Inn Invitational.

The Cougars face No. 25 Creighton in their season opener Friday at 4:30 p.m. CDT. This will be the first ever match between the two schools.

In 2012, Creighton went 29-4 overall, 17-1 in Missouri Valley Conference play and finished the season ranked No. 24 after losing to Minnesota in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

The Bluejays return four starters plus their libero, including Honorable Mention All-American Kelli Browning at middle blocker. Browning averaged 2.82 kills and 1.65 blocks per set last season.

On Saturday the Cougars will continue play with a match against Marquette at 12:30 p.m CDT.

The Golden Eagles went 27-7 overall and 13-2 in Big East conference play in 2012. Their season ended with a loss to invitational opponent Creighton in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

BYU leads the series with Marquette 1-0, with the Cougars winning in 2007.

The Cougars will face tournament host Bowling Green on Saturday at 7 p.m. CDT to finish out the invitational.

In 2012, the Falcons went 22-11 overall and 13-3 in Mid-American Conference play before losing in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

BYU is 1-0 against Bowling Green after defeating the Falcons 3-0 last season at the BYU Invitational in the Smith Fieldhouse.

In 2012, BYU went 28-4 during the season, including 13-3 in the West Coast Conference to tie for first with San Diego. The Cougars advanced to the third round of the NCAA tournament before falling to Oregon 3-1. BYU returns three starters plus its libero for the 2013 season.

In the AVCA Preseason Coaches’ Poll, BYU is ranked No. 13.

Links to live stats can be found on the women’s volleyball schedule page. Live streaming is available for BYU's first two matches with a subscription purchase. BYU’s match against Bowling Green State will be streamed for free. Links to live streaming are available on the Bowling Green State women’s volleyball schedule page.