Livingston paces No. 18 Cougars in sweep of Broncos

Erin Livingston rises up for a kill during the Cougars' Blue-White scrimmage

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Led by outside hitter Erin Livingston’s 17 kills, No. 18 BYU women’s volleyball swept Santa Clara (25-15, 25-17, 25-17) at the Leavey Event Center on Saturday afternoon.

BOX SCORE

The Cougars (18-5, 11-2 WCC) hit .316 for the match while holding the Broncos to a .154 hitting clip. Santa Clara also gifted BYU nine service errors, while the Cougars added four service aces.

Livingston’s 17 kills were backed up by seven kills a piece from middle blockers Kate Prior, Heather Gneiting and Whitney Llarenas, with Prior hitting .429 on the afternoon.

Setter Abby Taylor finished with 33 assists, libero Aria McComber contributed 12 digs and Gneiting added five blocks, all game-highs.

Set 1
The opening set went back-and-forth in the early going, with eight ties and three lead changes. Trailing 12-11, BYU went on three separate 4-0 runs to pull away, forcing Santa Clara timeouts twice.

Led by six Livingston kills, the Cougars hit .429 and put down 16 kills in the set. Alyssa Montoya recorded two service aces in BYU's final three points, including the 25-15 set-clincher.

Set 2
Both teams went on 5-0 runs as the second set began in similar fashion to the first, with five ties and three lead changes. Three kills each by Livingston and Gneiting, as well as four from Prior helped the Cougars create some separation.

BYU’s hitting percentage cooled down to .281 in the set, but the Cougars still recorded 14 kills in the frame. Closing the set on a 4-0 run, a Gneiting-Elyse Stowell double block and Stowell solo stuff gave BYU the 25-17 set win and commanding 2-0 match lead.

Set 3
The Cougars weathered five ties in the third, but never trailed. Riding a 6-0 run to break open a 12-6 lead, BYU never looked back, maintaining its six-point lead, at 15-9, on a quick hitter by Llarenas, forcing Santa Clara’s second timeout.

Livingston and Llarenas each downed kills and Kelsey Knudsen served an ace before the Cougars reeled off four-straight points. The Broncos answered with a 3-0 run of their own, but Livingston shut the door with a cross-court kill to seal the sweep with a 25-17 third set win.