Balanced attack leads No. 10 Cougars past LIU Brooklyn in three

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A balanced attack led the No. 10 BYU women’s volleyball team past LIU Brooklyn in three sets (25-16, 25-8, 25-13) Friday afternoon at Nationwide Arena.

"I thought this was a really good team win tonight," BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. "We did a great job of serving as a team and that helped us get the win."

Veronica Jones-Perry led the Cougars with 14 kills and five digs. Lyndie Haddock and Alohi Robins-Hardy each added a team-high 18 assists while Mary Lake chipped in 13 digs. Haddock and Amy Boswell each collected four blocks and Cosy Burnett put up 10 kills on a .667 clip. McKenna Miller added 10 kills and Makenna Santiago contributed 11 digs in the win.

BYU (4-0) jumped out to a 6-2 lead early in the first set against LIU Brooklyn (0-4) with kills from Jones-Perry, Boswell and Haddock. The Cougars stayed ahead by as many as five until a 4-1 Blackbird run brought LIU Brooklyn within two, down 10-8. The teams remained close until a pair of Burnett kills extended BYU’s advantage back to five at 15-10. Another 4-1 rally from the Blackbirds forced the Cougars to take a timeout leading by just three, 17-14. BYU quickly took the next six-straight points, capped off with a kill from Miller, before taking the set 25-16 on a service error.

The Cougars took an 8-1 lead to start the second set with kills from multiple players and an ace from Lake. Haddock and Whitney Young Howard later teamed up for a block to extend BYU’s advantage to 12-4. Another 5-0 Cougar run quickly forced LIU Brooklyn to take its final timeout of the set, trailing 17-5. A trio of consecutive Jones-Perry kills helped BYU pull ahead 23-8 and an attack error gave the Cougars the set 25-8.

The third set began with BYU taking a 7-3 lead after a Miller kill. The Blackbirds then went on a 5-0 run to take the lead at 8-7. The teams remained close from there until back-to-back aces from Lake pushed the Cougars ahead 14-10. BYU then went on a 9-0 run to go up by double-digits at 23-11. The Cougars cruised from there, completing the sweet 25-13 on a service error.

BYU concludes play in the Sports Imports D.C. Koehl Classic Saturday, Sept. 3, at 7 p.m. EDT when it faces off against tournament host No. 11 Ohio State. Links to live stats can be found onthe BYU women’s volleyball schedule page.