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Jack Urquhart | Posted: 2 Oct 2014 | Updated: 8 Nov 2020
Jack Urquhart

Young blocks her way into record books as BYU tops USF in four

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PROVO, Utah – Sophomore Whitney Young tied BYU's single-match block record and pushed No. 10 BYU past San Francisco in four sets (25-15, 25-18, 23-25, 25-11) Thursday night at the Smith Fieldhouse.

“We played a great match,” BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “Our numbers showed that offensively and defensively. I’m pleased and thought we did well against a great opponent.”

With the win, BYU (13-2, 4-0 West Coast Conference) maintained its undefeated all-time record against San Francisco (9-6, 2-1 WCC), who fell to 0-9 against the Cougars.

Young's 17 block assists and total blocks matched Nicole Warner's single-match records set in 2012. BYU totaled 24.0 blocks, tied for fourth-most in a match during the rally-scoring era for the Cougars.

In addition to her 17 blocks, Young finished the match with eight kills while hitting a .889 clip. Jennifer Hamson tallied 18 kills and a career-high 11 blocks. Alexa Gray added 16 kills and a season-high five blocks. The Cougars hit at a .455 clip, BYU’s third-highest team hitting percentage in a single match in the rally scoring era. Ciara Parker finished the match with a team-high 15 digs and Camry Godfrey Willardson ended with a match-high 41 assists while tying her career-high five blocks. 

BYU pulled out the victory in the fourth set, winning by a margin of 25-11. Young’s seven blocks in the set helped the Cougars secure the win. Tambre Nobles posted seven kills in the fourth set, as Hamson added four of her own.

Eight-straight points in the middle of the first set propelled BYU to a 25-15 win. During the 8-0 run, Gray notched six kills for the Cougars. A crucial part of the run came when Parker dove toward the left boundary to dig a San Fransisco spike, and Hamson set up the kill for Gray to give the Cougars a 12-9 lead. Willardson added 11 assists and four digs in the first set, as BYU took a 1-0 lead.

The score stayed close to start the second set, as Amy Boswell recorded a kill to put the Cougars up 16-13. After the Dons scored the next point, Boswell scored on two more kills to increase BYU's lead to 18-14. The Cougars cruised from there, using two late blocks from Young to hold off the Dons, 25-18.

After falling to a 16-10 deficit in the third set, BYU rallied back to bring the game within one point at 24-23. The Dons held off the Cougars, though, winning 25-23 and forcing the fourth set. The result of the set snapped BYU's streak of seven straight sweeps.

BYU next hosts Santa Clara Saturday at 8 p.m. MDT. Fans who arrive in a shirt and tie will get into the game for $2. The match will be televised on BYUtv. Links to live stats and a video feed can be found on the BYU women's volleyball schedule page.

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Royce Hinton | Posted: 29 Sep 2014 | Updated: 8 Nov 2020
Royce Hinton

No. 10 Cougars compete in three matches this week

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PROVO, Utah – No. 10 BYU women’s volleyball will travel to Pepperdine before finishing off the week with a pair of matches at home against San Francisco and Santa Clara.

The Cougars (11-2, 2-0 WCC) began West Coast Conference play last week with sweeps at home against Gonzaga and Portland.

Pepperdine

  • BYU first travels to face off against Pepperdine (6-8, 1-1 WCC) Tuesday at 6 p.m. PDT.
  • The Cougars lead the overall series 16-8. BYU has won the last four meetings in conference play.
  • The Waves return four starters and their libero to last year’s squad that went 15-11, 9-9 T-4.
  • Pepperdine has a new coach this year in Troy Tanner, who graduated from Pepperdine in 1992.

San Francisco

  • BYU next returns home Thursday at 7 p.m. MDT to compete against San Francisco (8-5, 1-0 WCC).
  • The Cougars are a perfect 8-0 against the Dons, including two sweeps a year ago in conference play.
  • San Francisco returns four starters to this year’s team. Last year the Dons went 13-15 and tied Pepperdine for fourth place in WCC action with a 9-9 record.
  • Thursday’s match will be the Breast Cancer Awareness match. Fans are encouraged to wear pink at the Smith Fieldhouse.

Santa Clara

  • BYU will finish out the week Saturday at 8 p.m. MDT against Santa Clara (10-4, 0-1 WCC).
  • The Cougars are 5-2 all-time against the Broncos. The two teams split the series last year with each team winning on its home court.
  • Santa Clara returns three starters and its libero from the 2013 squad that finished 11-16, 6-12.

VIDEO/STATS

Tuesday’s match against Pepperdine will be broadcast live on ESPNU. Both Thursday and Saturday’s matches will be broadcast live on BYUtv and BYU Radio. Links to live stats for all three matches can be found on the BYU women’s volleyball schedule page.