EL PASO, Texas -- Alexa Gray led No. 9 BYU women's volleyball past UTEP in straight sets (25-17, 25-6, 25-16) Friday evening at Memorial Gym.

Gray finished the game with 10 kills on 27 attempts. Amy Boswell contributed a team-high four blocks, while setter Camry Godfrey Willardson added 31 assists. In addition, Ciara Parker had 13 digs for the Cougars and Hannah Robison had nine kills with a .571 hitting percentage.

"I was impressed with the team's ability to rebound tonight," BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. "We played better in key areas. I was happy that we were able to play a handful of different girls."

BYU (6-2) and UTEP (1-6) started off the first set trading points back-and-forth. A Robison kill eventually brought the Cougars in front by four at 10-6. A pair of kills from Jennifer Hamson furthered BYU's advantage even more, giving it a 15-8 lead. Another trio of kills from Robison helped extend the Cougars' lead to eight at 21-13 and a Hamson kill finished off the first set 25-17 for BYU.

The Cougars started off the second set on a 10-1 run with help from a pair of Parker service aces. The Miners committed 10 attack errors in the early goings of the set as BYU jumped out to an 18-5 advantage. It was all Cougars from that point as BYU finished out the set on a 7-1 run to easily take it 25-6.

The third and final set started off with a kill from Tambre Nobles. A combined Boswell and Hamson block extended BYU's early lead to five at 7-5. A Boswell kill followed later on to give the Cougars a 10-point lead at 17-7. A kill from Alohi Robins-Hardy ended the set at match 25-16 for BYU. 

The Cougars continue play in the New Mexico State/UTEP Invitational tomorrow at noon MDT when they return to New Mexico State to take on the Aggies on their home court. The game will be broadcast regionally on Altitude as well as nationally on watchESPN.com.

PROVO, Utah – No. 9 BYU women’s volleyball heads back out on the road Friday and Saturday to take part in the UTEP/New Mexico State Invitational.

After falling to No. 5 Washington in five sets at the BYU Invitational, the Cougars (5-1) look to bounce back and defeat their first ranked team of the season in No. 14 Colorado State. BYU will then face off against UTEP and New Mexico State on their respective home courts.

No. 14 Colorado State

• The Cougars will take on No. 14 Colorado State Friday at 11 a.m. MDT on a neutral New Mexico State court.
• BYU is 49-28-1 overall against the Rams, having last won 3-1 in a 2012 invitational match.
• Colorado State is currently 5-1 on the early season, with its only loss coming against No. 4 Wisconsin. The Rams face Denver Tuesday night before heading to the tournament.
• They return five starters and their libero to a team that went 28-2 overall in 2013 and participated in the NCAA tournament.

UTEP

• BYU will next face off against UTEP Friday at 7 p.m. MDT on its home court.
• The Cougars have a perfect 24-0 record against the Miners, with their last win coming during conference play of the 1998 WAC season.
• UTEP is 1-5 so far this season, having defeated Western Illinois last week.
• The Miners return just two starters to their team, which took ninth in Conference USA play.

New Mexico State

• To conclude the UTEP/New Mexico State Invitational, BYU will travel back to the Aggies’ home court Saturday at noon MDT.
• The Cougars hold a 29-5 record against New Mexico State. BYU’s last win against the Aggies was in the first round of the NCAA tournament in 2012.
• New Mexico State is 3-3 to begin the year and returns just two seniors to its squad that participated in the 2013 NCAA tournament.

VIDEO/STATS

BYU’s match against New Mexico State will be broadcast live on AggieVision in the New Mexico area. It will also be streamed live on watchespn.com. The Cougars’ match against UTEP will also be streamed live. Links to video and live stats can be found on the BYU women’s volleyball schedule page.