PROVO, Utah – No. 13 BYU women's volleyball secured an opening-match victory to start up the BYU Invitational Thursday night in a thrilling five-set match (25-23, 23-25, 25-18, 19-25, 15-4) against Weber State.

BYU tallied 11 aces in the match, its highest total for the season and most since a 12-ace performance seven years ago against UMBC. Senior setter Tayler Hifo had two of the aces Thursday night, coming at a crucial time in the fifth set, aiding the Cougars with a 5-0 run.

“You can’t get too caught up," Hifo said, "so I just focused on my job. We just needed to stay in the moment, focusing on what we could control and executing the right energy.”

BYU senior opposite hitter Kenzie Koerber recorded a double-double with 17 kills and 13 digs. Junior setter Whitney Bower contributed 55 assists and 13 digs.

The Cougars spread out the kill count with 12 kills from both senior Taylen Ballard-Nixon and sophomore Erin Livingston. Senior Kennedy Eschenberg and junior Heather Gneiting added another 10 kills each. 

SET ONE
The teams played a tightly-fought set with the Cougars coming out on top at the end (25-23). Weber State went on a 5-1 run early on, but was stopped by a block from BYU's Gneiting and Bower. The Wildcats continued to lead throughout most of the set. However, the Cougars came away with the first win after racking up the three final points. 

SET TWO
The two teams continued to put up a fight. BYU went on a 6-0 run, assisted by sophomore libero Madi Allen’s second ace of the night. The Wildcats fought back to take the lead and won the second set (25-23). Weber had a .286 hitting percentage, holding the Cougars to .167.

SET THREE
BYU came out strong, with a comfortable lead throughout the third set. The Cougars put together a 9-2 run to maintain their lead. Weber put up a fight at set point, but failed to hold off BYU. Winning 25-18, the Cougars recorded two more aces and their highest hitting percentage of the night so far at .400.

SET FOUR
BYU had a slower start as Weber State took a 13-7 lead in the first half of the set. The Cougars went onto a 4-0 run. The Wildcats maintained their lead and strung together a 6-3 run of their own. Unable to catch up, Weber racked up a win of 25-19, taking the teams into their fifth and final set.

SET FIVE
BYU did not hesitate coming into the fifth set. The Cougars swiftly took a 7-2 lead, with two consecutive aces coming from Hifo. The set continued until Koerber recorded the final ace of the night, putting BYU ahead 15-4 and securing the victory.

The Cougars will continue their play in the BYU Invitational the next two days against Dixie State on Friday, Sep. 3 at 7 p.m. MDT. The match will be available on BYUtv.org and the BYUtv app.

PROVO, Utah – No. 15 BYU women’s volleyball will host the BYU Invitational presented by Zion’s Bank Sept. 2, 3 and 4 at home in the Smith Fieldhouse. 

The Cougars will host Weber State, Dixie State and Michigan State. Below is a breakdown of this weekend’s schedule. 

Sept. 2

7 p.m. - WSU vs. BYU

Sept. 3

10 a.m. - MSU vs. DSU
4 p.m. - MSU vs. WSU
7 p.m. - DSU vs. BYU

Sept. 4

4 p.m. - DSU vs. WSU
7 p.m. - MSU vs. BYU

No. 13 Brigham Young University Cougars (3-0, 0-0 West Coast Conference)

• BYU took home the 2021 dōTERRA Classic Championship with 3-0 sweeps over UNLV, Long Island and Southern Utah
• BYU was ranked No. 15 in the AVCA preseason poll and moved up to No. 13 this week
• BYU finished the 2020-21 season ranked No. 15
• The Cougars went 15-1 in conference play to finish on top of the WCC 
• The 2021 team features four 2020-21 All-Americans: Taylen Ballard-Nixon, Whitney Bower, Kennedy Eschenberg and transfer Kenzie Koerber

Michigan State University Spartans (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten Conference)

• Michigan State enters 2021 with a 16-man roster, which includes four seniors, four juniors, two sophomores, and six freshmen
• Michigan State opened its 2021 season with the Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational last weekend, going 2-1 with wins over Western Michigan and Canisius, and falling to Wright State in a five-set  thriller in the finale
• Last year, 10 Spartans earned Academic All-Big Ten honors (a 3.0 GPA or above)
• MSU has ranked among the top 10 in the nation in average attendance in each of the last five seasons, landing at ninth in 2019 with an average of 3,101
• Michigan State is the fist Big Ten program to come to Provo for a women’s volleyball match since BYU faced Ohio State back in 2017 for the BYU Invitational

Dixie State University Trailblazers (0-3, 0-0 Western Athletic Conference) 

• For the first time since 2012, the Trailblazers have opened the season with a new head coach
• Dixie State dropped a five-set thriller to Long Beach State in the Boise State Invitational last weekend, and also fell to Montana State and Boise State, finishing 0-3 
• DSU recorded an 8-8 mark in WAC play last spring to finish in a fourth-place tie with Tarleton State
• Senior outside hitter Megan Treanor (First Team All-WAC, 171 kills, 168 assists, 127 digs, 34 blocks, 25 service aces) headlines the returners and was named to the Preseason All-WAC team

Weber State University Wildcats (3-0, 0-0 Big Sky Conference) 

• Coming off of the best season in school history and Weber State's first ever win in the NCAA tournament, Big Sky Conference volleyball coaches unanimously selected the Wildcats as the No. 1 team in the conference in the 2021 fall preseason coaches poll
• The defending Big Sky champions went 3-0 in the Northern Utah Classic last week, sweeping their first two opponents — Seton Hall and North Dakota — and closed their opening weekend with a five-set victory over the Utah State, to win the tournament
• Senior outside hitter Rylin Adams picked up right where she left off last season and was named the conference’s Offensive Player of the Week coming into this weekend

BROADCAST INFORMATION

The following game will be available on BYUtv, BYUtv.org and the BYUtv App:

Sept. 2 - BYU vs. WSU

The following games will be available only on BYUtv.org and the BYUtv App:

Sept. 3 - MSU vs .DSU
Sept. 3 - MSU vs. WSU
Sept. 3 - DSU vs. BYU
Sept. 4 - DSU vs. WSU
Sept. 4 - MSU vs. BYU

TICKET INFORMATION

Only 7 p.m. games will require tickets. Purchase your tickets online via byutickets.com.

MASK REQUIREMENT

Consistent with current Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and BYU requirements, BYU Athletics will require masks in indoor venues when physical distancing isn’t maintained. This includes a requirement for those attending indoor athletic events, such as volleyball in the Smith Fieldhouse and inside the loges at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Wearing a mask will be required for entry to indoor BYU venues. Masks will not be required for outdoor BYU venues.

BYU strongly urges students, employees and campus guests to follow recent counsel from the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to get vaccinated and wear masks.

The university will continue to monitor the situation and will reevaluate mask requirements at the end of September based on several factors including the immunization rate of the campus community, COVID-19 transmission and hospitalization rates, and guidance from health and government officials.