Cougars sweep Montana State in home opener

PROVO, Utah - The BYU women’s volleyball team swept (25-15, 25-19, 25-10) Montana State University in its home opener on Tuesday night at the Smith Fieldhouse.

“I really liked what we did,” BYU women’s volleyball head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “I thought we had a really nice team effort and put up some big numbers. I was glad we got a little tested in the second set and thought Montana adjusted really well and played well.”

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BYU improves its record to 5-3 behind junior Tambre Haddock who had 17 kills on the night and sophomore Alexa Gray who contributed 12 kills and eight digs for the match.

“Tambre has done such a great job,” Olmstead said. “She was really physical up there and that’s what she’s been. She’s been fairly consistent for us and she’s at it everyday at practice and that’s important to have.”

Setter Camry Godfrey finished with 40 assists, while libero Tia Withers Welling added 17 digs on the night. 

The Cougars and Bobcats traded points early in the first set until a 5-0 run by BYU to lead 14-8. Gray led the first set with six kills and seven digs and Haddock contributed four kills and two digs of her own. Kathryn LeCheminant ended the first set, 25-15, with a service ace.

The Cougars got off to a slower start in the second set starting 0-3 and battled back and forth, tied at 17-17. Jessica Jardine and Whitney Young blocked Montana’s Kennadie Clute to give BYU the 18-17 lead, followed by Gray’s block to put them up by two. BYU ended the set on a 5-0 run by Haddock’s 11^th kill of the match.

Carrying the momentum from the second set, BYU ran away with it in the third, going on a 10-1 run to lead 12-3. Haddock contributed five kills during the early run and pulled away with a 25-10 victory.

“I believe the momentum carried us into the third set,” Olmstead said. “But we don’t like to get too comfortable, because we’ve lost those this year and we’re working on that. I was happy with how they came out in the third set.”

The Cougars will return to action at home to play UC Irvine on Thursday night at 7 p.m. MDT. The game will be broadcast live on BYUtv.