Outside hitters push No. 9 BYU past San Francisco in three

SAN FRANCISCO –  The outside hitters helped push No. 9 BYU women’s volleyball to a sweep of San Francisco (25-18, 25-22, 25-8) Saturday afternoon at War Memorial Gym.

"I liked our offensive distribution today and am proud of the way the entire team was ready to play," BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. "I think our blocking is getting better, so I was happy to see us get great touches."

Veronica Jones-Perry led the Cougars with 14 kills while Taylen Ballard and McKenna Miller added a career-high 10 and nine kills, respectively. Mary Lake collected 15 digs and Cosy Burnett had eight kills and five blocks. Lyndie Haddock set the team with 34 assists in addition to adding 10 digs and seven blocks to tie her career high.

A pair of kills from Jones-Perry helped BYU (13-1) to a 6-3 advantage over San Francisco (3-12) early in the first set. Back-to-back Don attack errors extended the lead to five at 11-6. The Cougars were ahead 15-8 before San Francisco went on a 6-1 run to get within two, down 16-14. BYU countered with a 4-1 rally to get back up by five, 20-15. Cosy Burnett then ended the set 25-18 on a kill.

Consecutive blocks from Haddock and Burnett pushed the Cougars to a 4-1 lead to start the second set. The Dons then rallied with a 5-0 run to take a 7-6 advantage, but a Jones-Perry kill helped push BYU ahead again at 15-12. San Francisco evened the score at 18-all, keeping things close for the remainder of the set, but the Cougars won 25-22 on a Jones-Perry kill.

Three kills from Ballard helped BYU take a 5-2 lead to begin the third set. Two Jones-Perry aces extended the Cougars lead to double-digits at 14-4, and BYU cruised from there, taking the set 25-8 on a San Francisco attack error.

The Cougars return home to the Smith Fieldhouse Tuesday, Sept. 26, at 7 p.m. MDT, to face Pepperdine. The match will be televised live on BYUtv and simulcast on BYU Radio – Sirius XM 143. Links to live video and stats can be found on the BYU women’s volleyball schedule page.