No. 7 seed Cougars sweep Dukes in Tournament opener

PITTSBURGH — No. 7 seed BYU women’s volleyball swept James Madison, 3-0 (25-20, 25-10, 25-15) in its NCAA Tournament First Round match at the Petersen Events Center on Friday evening.

BOX SCORE

"Congratulations to James Madison on a great season," BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. "Lauren and her team had a great year, they were conference champions, and it was great to match up with them in the First Round. I think our girls enjoyed playing their team and to see a team from a different part of the country. I'm really proud of our team and the focus and the fight that we have, especially in that first set. We played some clean volleyball and our coaches put together a great scouting report that our girls executed well. It was a great first round match. We're excited to advance and grateful for the opportunity to be here."

The Cougars (22-6, 15-3 WCC) overcame a five-point deficit in the first set and then never looked back, hitting .373 for the match and totaling nine blocks while holding the Dukes to a .112 clip.

Outside hitter Erin Livingston led all hitters with 20 kills, while middle blockers Heather Gneiting and Kate Prior finished with 10 and eight kills, respectively. The trio each hit .385 or better. 

Setter Whitney Bower tallied 33 assists, with liberos Kelsey Knudsen and Aria McComber contributing 14 and 12 digs, respectively. Prior and middle blocker Whitney Llarenas added six total blocks apiece. 

Set 1
Gneiting opened the match with a kill off the block, but JMU took the next four points before a Livingston kill ended the run. Trailing 6-2, BYU called a timeout. The Cougars got two kills by Prior and one from Gneiting to make it 8-6. 

Elyse Stowell landed a cross-court kill and McComber scored on an ace before BYU reeled off four-straight, thanks to two Livingston kills and a Whitney Bower dump, to tie the set at 12. Prior then got in on a pair of double blocks, one with Llarenas and the other with Gneiting, to give the Cougars an 18-16 lead, forcing a Dukes’ timeout. 

Prior, Gneiting and Livingston each registered kills to give BYU a 21-18 advantage, and James Madison called its second timeout. Livingston hammered an overpass kill and scored another one into the middle before two cross-court kills by Prior closed it out for the Cougars, who hit. 354 in the opening set, 25-20. 

Set 2
Gneiting helped BYU quickly take a 4-0 lead in the second, scoring on two kills and teaming up with Whitney Bower for a double block that forced a JMU timeout. Coming out of the timeout, a Gneiting slide off the block, cross-court Livingston kill and McComber’s second ace of the match gave the Cougars the 7-0 lead.

Two more Livingston kills and a James Madison error put BYU ahead 10-1, and the Dukes took their second timeout. A double block by Prior and Llarenas capped off a 3-0 Cougar run that made it 14-3. Llarenas slammed a quick hitter that landed just past the 10-foot line, Gneiting scored off an overpass and Prior landed a kill as BYU took an 18-5 lead. 

Stowell and Livingston both went cross-court before Prior and Llarenas sent back two double blocks, and it was 24-9. Eden Bower wrapped up the second with a kill two plays later for a 25-10 set win. The Cougars hit an impressive. 500 while holding the Dukes to .030 hitting in the set.

Set 3
Again taking a 3-0 lead to start the set, BYU went up 4-1 on a Whitney Bower dump kill. As James Madison rallied, Livingston went down the line and Gneiting got a kill off an overpass, making it 8-4, Cougars. 

Livingston sent back a solo block and then put down three-straight kills, with a quick-hitter by Llarenas capping off a 4-0 BYU that had the Cougars in front 15-8 at the media timeout. Another solo block from Livingston, Prior-Llarenas double block and Prior kill gave BYU a 10-point lead, at 20-10, forcing a Dukes’ timeout.

Two JMU errors made way for Whitney Bower to swing away and land a kill, and another James Madison error had the Cougars at match point. A play later, Livingston sent a cross-court kill to seal the BYU victory, 25-15. 

Advancing to the Second Round, the Cougars will take on the winner of the Pitt-Colgate nightcap (played at 7 p.m. EST) at the Petersen Events Center on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. EST. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.