BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The BYU women’s volleyball team recorded its first win of the season in a 3-2 (25-23, 19-25, 25-17, 14-25, 15-12) showdown against Marquette in the Cougars’ second match of the Hampton Inn Invitational.

“This was an improvement from last night,” head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “Not only in result, but in how we played. I was pleased and proud of the way the team fought. Marquette is a great program with a very talented team and coaching staff.”

Sophomore Alexa Gray led the Cougar offense with 20 kills, while junior Tambre Haddock contributed 17 kills of her own in the win. Camry Godfrey supported at setter with 52 assists and freshman Amy Boswell went up for seven blocks to lead BYU. Junior Tia Withers Welling got into double-figures as well with 15 digs.

Both teams took turns exchanging points in the beginning of the match, with neither squad controlling the set. The Cougars maintained a slight lead over the Golden Eagles until a pair of attack errors put BYU behind 16-13. The Cougars came battling back, taking a 20-19 lead after a Marquette attack error. BYU had three-consecutive set points before taking the first set 25-23 from a Boswell kill.

Marquette took an early 5-2 lead in the second set with multiple kills from Golden Eagle Lindsey Gosh. BYU rallied from a five-point deficit with four-straight Gray kills to force a Marquette timeout at 15-14. The Golden Eagles had a rally of their own to end the match 25-19, finishing on a 5-1 run.

Several attack errors from Marquette put the Cougars up 8-3 early in the third set. BYU continued to play on the attack with multiple kills coming from Haddock, which extended the Cougar lead to 12-6. The Cougars maintained at least a six-point lead throughout the rest of the set as BYU coasted to a 25-17 finish.

The Golden Eagles came battling back in the fourth set, taking a 6-4 lead with a pair of service aces. Three-straight Haddock kills kept the Cougars within a point, after falling behind 10-6. Marquette continued its attack, widening its lead to seven points, 20-13. The Cougars couldn’t put together its own attack late, as the Golden Eagles took the fourth set 25-14.

The first half of the final set saw both sides trading points evenly. A Hannah Robison kill gave BYU its largest lead at 7-4, before Marquette came back to take the lead 9-8 after multiple Cougar errors. BYU fought its way back at the end, taking the final set 15-12.

The Cougars take on host Bowling Green State at 7 p.m. EDT to finish out the invitational. Live stats are available for the match on the schedule page. Live video for the match can be found on the Mid-American Conference’s website.

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.