White takes down blue in annual Blue/White match

PROVO, Utah — Senior Hannah Robison shined for the white squad as her team beat the blue Cougars 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-16, 25-20) in the annual Blue/White scrimmage Saturday afternoon at the Smith Fieldhouse.

"I was impressed with some of our freshmen today," BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. "I thought they did a really nice job on the outside. Some of the girls have done a great job over the past few years at being role players. A few stepped up and played a bigger role today. I'm pretty pleased with what we're seeing right now."

Robison led the Cougars with 18 kills and a .326 hitting percentage. Alexa Gray, Danelle Parady, Jennifer Hamson, Amy Boswell and Cosy Burnett all posted double-digit kills for the match. Whitney Young led BYU in blocks with three while Ciara Parker contributed a team-high 23 digs.  

Burnett got the first point for the white team with a kill to the left side. The white Cougars maintained a slight lead until a kill by Hamson from the blue squad tied the score at 7 apiece. A trio of blue attack errors led to a 12-8 lead for white and forced the blue Cougars to call a timeout. Following the break, the blue side rallied to take its first lead at 18-17 on a Madeline Graham kill. The two sides traded the lead until the blue squad took set point on a block from Camry Godfrey Willardson and Graham that ended the set with a 25-21 blue victory.

A kill by Willardson in the second set gave the white team its first lead at 6-5. The score remained close as the two sides tied at points 10 and 14. A kill by Parady extended the blue squad's lead back to two at 16-14. The white team then went on an 8-0 run to bring the score to set point at 24-18. Two points later, a kill from Gray closed out the set 25-19 for the white Cougars. 

It was all white Cougars in the third set. A block from Gray and Boswell started things off for the white team. A kill from Robison topped off a 9-1 run that gave the white side a 10-2 advantage. The blue team rallied to bring the score to 14-7 with the help of a trio of kills from Parady. Attack errors from the white side kept the blue Cougars in the set after a pair of them brought the score to 19-14, white. Gray ended the set with a kill to give her side a 25-16 set three win.

The fourth and final set began with a 4-1 lead for the blue team from multiple white attack errors. The white Cougars clawed their way back into the set with a 5-0 run to give them a 6-4 edge. The two teams traded points until a Gray kill brought the white squad ahead 12-8. A pair of kills from Parady, of the blue Cougars, cut the white team's lead to just three at 16-13. Finally, after a trio of set points, the white team ended the match with a 25-20 victory.

The No. 9 Cougars officially begin the season next Friday, Aug. 29, when they travel to West Virginia to compete in the Gold & Blue Player's Challenge. BYU will face off against West Virginia, IUPUI and Toledo before returning home for the BYU Invitational from Sept. 5-6.