Gray and No. 9 Cougars cruise past UTEP

EL PASO, Texas -- Alexa Gray led No. 9 BYU women's volleyball past UTEP in straight sets (25-17, 25-6, 25-16) Friday evening at Memorial Gym.

Gray finished the game with 10 kills on 27 attempts. Amy Boswell contributed a team-high four blocks, while setter Camry Godfrey Willardson added 31 assists. In addition, Ciara Parker had 13 digs for the Cougars and Hannah Robison had nine kills with a .571 hitting percentage.

"I was impressed with the team's ability to rebound tonight," BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. "We played better in key areas. I was happy that we were able to play a handful of different girls."

BYU (6-2) and UTEP (1-6) started off the first set trading points back-and-forth. A Robison kill eventually brought the Cougars in front by four at 10-6. A pair of kills from Jennifer Hamson furthered BYU's advantage even more, giving it a 15-8 lead. Another trio of kills from Robison helped extend the Cougars' lead to eight at 21-13 and a Hamson kill finished off the first set 25-17 for BYU.

The Cougars started off the second set on a 10-1 run with help from a pair of Parker service aces. The Miners committed 10 attack errors in the early goings of the set as BYU jumped out to an 18-5 advantage. It was all Cougars from that point as BYU finished out the set on a 7-1 run to easily take it 25-6.

The third and final set started off with a kill from Tambre Nobles. A combined Boswell and Hamson block extended BYU's early lead to five at 7-5. A Boswell kill followed later on to give the Cougars a 10-point lead at 17-7. A kill from Alohi Robins-Hardy ended the set at match 25-16 for BYU. 

The Cougars continue play in the New Mexico State/UTEP Invitational tomorrow at noon MDT when they return to New Mexico State to take on the Aggies on their home court. The game will be broadcast regionally on Altitude as well as nationally on watchESPN.com.