Middles lead No. 7 BYU sweep of Gonzaga

PROVO, Utah – The play of middle blockers Cosy Burnett and Kennedy Redding helped lead No. 7 BYU women's volleyball past Gonzaga in straight sets (25-11, 26-24, 25-16) Saturday afternoon at the Smith Fieldhouse.

"I thought we served really well today and that helped us get some great touches on the block," BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. "Gonzaga made some changes in the second set and we had to show some fight, which was awesome to see. For the second match in a row we passed well. I'm really proud of the improvement there."

Burnett contributed 10 kills, five blocks and two service aces while Redding had seven kills and five blocks. Lyndie Haddock ended the match with 33 assists, and Mary Lake added 21 digs. Veronica Jones-Perry collected a match-high 15 kills in the win.

The Cougars (19-1, 8-0 West Coast Conference) got off to a strong start in the first set as back-to-back-to-back Jones-Perry kills kept BYU ahead at 7-2. The Cougars later went on an 8-0 run, with help from several errors by Gonzaga (11-9, 6-2 WCC) and kills by Sara Hamson, Haddock and Jones-Perry to take a 22-9 advantage. BYU won the set 25-11 with another kill from Haddock.

The teams stayed within two points of each other until a Bulldog kill pushed Gonzaga ahead 12-9, forcing a Cougar timeout. Burnett then tied up the set at 14-all following consecutive kills. The Bulldogs had set point at 24-23, but another kill from Burnett evened the score at 24 apiece. Jones-Perry then finished the match with two more kills to give BYU the closet 26-24 set win.

Jones-Perry opened the third set with a kill, helping the Cougars to a 5-0 start. A kill from McKenna Miller made it 15-9, and Burnett expanded the Cougar lead to 19-15 with another pair of back-to-back kills. BYU finished the set on a 6-0 run to win the match 25-16.

The Cougars face Pepperdine next on the road Thursday, Oct. 19, at 7:00 p.m. PDT, at Firestone Fieldhouse. The match will be streamed live on TheW.tv. Links to live stats and the video feed can be found on the BYU women’s volleyball schedule page.