SAN FRANCISCO – Junior outside hitter McKenna MIller helped No. 1 BYU women’s volleyball cruise past San Francisco in three sets (25-12, 25-20, 25-21) Thursday night at War Memorial Gym to remain undefeated.

"I liked our fight tonight,” BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. "We stuck together and kept competing.”

Miller led the Cougars with 11 kills while adding four aces. Lyndie Haddock-Eppich had a double-double of 27 assists and 11 digs while Mary Lake contributed 19 digs. Heather Gneiting and Kennedy Eschenberg each put up four blocks and Roni Jones-Perry had nine kills and seven digs in the win.

A kill from Jones-Perry gave BYU (17-0, 7-0 WCC) a 6-5 lead, but San Francisco (8-10, 1-6 WCC) scored four-straight points to go up 9-6. The Cougars then countered with a 5-0 run of their own to retake the lead at 11-9. Kills from Jones-Perry, Madi Robinson and Miller helped BYU go up 22-12 following a 9-0 rally. The Cougars then won the set 25-12 on an attack error from the Dons.

BYU took a 7-3 advantage to start the second set off of a Haddock-Eppich kill. A Gneiting ace extended the Cougar lead at 10-6, but a 6-1 run by San Francisco pushed the Dons back in front at 12-11. A BYU attack error kept San Francisco ahead at 16-15, but a Gneiting kill helped the Cougars rattle off three unanswered points to take a 19-17 advantage. A Miller kill then ended the set for BYU at 25-20.

The Dons took a 4-1 lead at the beginning of the third set, capitalizing off of several Cougar errors. Back-to-back Miller aces pushed BYU in front at 9-6, and a kill from Lacy Haddock made it 14-10. San Francisco tied the set again at 14-14 following a kill. The teams remained within a point of each other until a Jones-Perry kill made it 20-18. The Cougars scored the last three points of the match, including two blocks from Eschenberg, to take the set, 25-21. 

BYU returns to action at the Leavey Event Center Saturday, Oct. 13, at 1 p.m. PDT, facing off against Santa Clara. The match will be streamed live on TheW.tv. Live stats can be found on the BYU women’s volleyball schedule page.

PROVO, Utah – No. 1 BYU women’s volleyball hits the road again this week, traveling to San Francisco and Santa Clara to complete a three-match road swing.

Last Week

The Cougars (16-0, 6-0 WCC) beat league rival San Diego on the road in four sets to remain undefeated on the year and No. 1 in the national rankings.

San Francisco

• BYU plays San Francisco (8-9, 1-5 WCC) at War Memorial Gym Thursday, Oct. 11, at 7 p.m. PDT.
• The Cougars are a perfect 16-0 all-time against San Francisco, including a 7-0 record when playing the Dons away from home.
• BYU swept both matchups last season.
• San Francisco got off to a 7-4 start to the season in nonconference play but has struggled since, only beating Santa Clara since then.
• The Dons were picked to finish 10th in 2018 in the WCC Preseason Coaches’ Poll following a 3-28, 0-18 season a year ago.

Santa Clara

• BYU faces Santa Clara (5-13, 0-5 WCC) at the Leavey Event Center Saturday, Oct. 13, at 1 p.m. PDT.
• The Cougars hold an 11-4 advantage in the overall series history but are just 3-4 when playing the Broncos on the road.
• BYU has won the past five matchups between the two teams, including two sweeps last year.
• Santa Clara has struggled with injuries through much of the year despite being picked to finish sixth in the preseason poll. The Broncos finished 15-15, 8-10 last season.

Video/Stats

Both matches this week will be streamed live on TheW.tv. Live stats will also be available on the BYU women’s volleyball schedule page.