PROVO, Utah- The No. 17 BYU women’s volleyball team won three-straight sets (26-24, 28-26, 25-13) against Loyola Marymount Saturday to stay undefeated at home.

"I knew it would be tough," BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. "They are very well coached. I wasn't surprised it was a tough match. I knew it was coming, but the win is another step for us."

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BYU improves its record to 23-2 and 11-2 in conference play, while LMU falls to 15-11 and 6-7 in the WCC.

Alexa Gray led the way for the Cougars offensively with 16 kills, while Heather Hannemann contributed 35 assists. Tia Withers had 11 digs and Jennifer Hamson recorded eight blocks to lead the team defensively. She also had 11 kills and Ciara Parker contributed 10 digs.

BYU and LMU traded points early in the first set, until a Cougar error and a Lion ace sparked a run for LMU. At 4-7, BYU took advantage of some LMU errors and executed on defense for a 5-0 run to give the Cougars the lead. LMU fought back to tie the game at 11, but BYU earned the point to break the tie on a block from Hamson and Nicole Warner. BYU and LMU stayed close and the game eventually settled at a 24-24 tie. However, LMU committed its seventh service error of the set to give BYU set point and then Gray smashed her ninth kill of the set to give BYU the 26-24 victory.

BYU continued its run into the second set and used scrappy defense to earn the early 4-0 lead. LMU cut the Cougar lead to two at 9-7, but BYU answered on a back row attack from Hamson to side out for the Cougars. LMU stayed within two points until a kill from Hamson and a service ace from Ciara Parker raised BYU to a 14-10 lead. With the score tied at 19, Gray came up big once again for the Cougars with three-straight kills. LMU fought back to even the score at 26, but a service ace from Hannemann secured the 28-26 victory for BYU.

In set three, BYU and LMU continued the competitive play and traded point for point until BYU’s blocking game sparked a 3-0 run for the Cougars to put them up 12-9. BYU earned its biggest lead of the set at 15-10 to force a Lion timeout and then BYU continued its run to pull away with the 25-13 win.

BYU will play next against Santa Clara at home on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 1 p.m. MST.

LMU vs. BYU Box Score

PROVO, Utah—In a battle to lead the West Coast Conference, No. 17 BYU women’s volleyball welcomes No. 18 San Diego to the Smith Fieldhouse Wednesday.

The match begins at 8 p.m. MDT and will air on ESPNU, BYU’s first match on an ESPN Network since the Cougars faced then-No. 1 Penn State in the 2007 NCAA Regional Championship on ESPNU.

The Cougars will also face Loyola Marymount at home Saturday at 1 p.m. MDT. The match will be played live on BYUtv.

The Cougars are 21-2 on the season and 9-2 in conference play after two road wins against Gonzaga and Portland Thursday and Saturday, respectively. San Diego, tied with BYU for first place in the WCC, comes off a loss to Santa Clara Saturday, which put the Toreros' record at 17-4 and 9-2 in league.

The two losses on both teams’ conference records were to Saint Mary’s and Santa Clara. BYU lost to both teams on the road and San Diego lost to Saint Mary’s on the road and Santa Clara at home.

BYU looks to defend its undefeated home record (8-0) against San Diego, which holds a 5-3 road record this season.

At opposite hitter, 6-foot-7 Jennifer Hamson averages 3.92 kills per set to lead the Cougars. Setter Heather Hannemann collects 11.31 assists per set and libero Tia Withers has 2.78 digs per set.

Middle blocker Nicole Warner, No. 1 in NCAA Division I volleyball in blocks, averages 1.75 blocks per set.

San Diego

The Toreros last faced the Cougars in 2011 and came away with a 3-1 win. San Diego leads the series with BYU 3-1-0.

San Diego relies on middle hitters Chloe Ferrari and Katie Hoekman to lead the offense. Ferrari averages 2.79 kills per set and Hoekman averages 2.64. Hoekman also leads in blocks with 1.11 per set.

Setter Rachel Alvey helps out with 4.11 assists per set and libero Kandiss Anderson leads the team in digs with 4.11.

San Diego looks to end a two-match losing streak after last week’s loss to Saint Mary’s.

Loyola Marymount

Loyola Marymount is 14-10 on the season and 5-6 in conference. The Lions come off a 3-0 win against Gonzaga.

In BYU’s last meeting with the Lions this season, the Cougars took the 3-2 victory. BYU leads the series 5-0-0.

Outside hitter Kathleen Luft leads the team with 4.00 kills per set helped out by setter Hannah Tedrow’s 8.77 assists average. Middle blocker Litara Keil contributes 1.12 blocks per set and defensive specialist Betsi Metter has 4.75 digs per set.

How to watch

The match against San Diego will be broadcast on ESPNU and a live stats link is available on the women’s volleyball schedule page. The match can also be viewed online on the Watch ESPN page and will be rebroadcast on BYUtv Nov. 1 at 9 p.m. following a women's basketball exhibition game broadcast.

Fans can watch the match against Loyola Marymount on BYUtv or byutvsports.com. Live stats are also available on the schedule page. Watch the BYUtv promo for the match on YouTube.

Halloween party

Prior to the San Diego match, fans can attend a Halloween party in the annex of the Smith Fieldhouse (west of the volleyball court) to trick or treat and hang out with BYU athletes. The event begins at 6 p.m. and will end when the match starts. A special family pass for the San Diego match will be available for $10.