Sweeping Through San Diego

SAN -- Proving its ability to bounce back and rise up, the BYU women’s volleyball team came back strong in a sweep against San Diego State (25-17, 25-20, 26-24) improving its record to 12-11 overall and 5-8 in the Mountain West Conference.

“I’m extremely proud of the team,” said BYU women’s volleyball head coach Shay Goulding. “They executed the plays really well. We’ve made a lot of improvements, offensively and defensively, and I think those improvements really came out in the way we played tonight.”

Kayla Walker led the Cougars in kills with 11, followed by Rachel Dyer and Bryn Porter who tied for second-place with eight. Melissa Lake topped in digs with eight, while Ashton Hansen Hosford led with eight blocks.

The Cougars set the pace early in the first set taking the lead 10-4. In an attempt to stop the momentum, the Aztecs called a timeout but to no avail. With a kill from Walker and a service ace from Porter, BYU carried the lead to 14-6. Unable to stop the Cougar strength, the Aztecs fell to BYU 25-17 after a service ace from Dyer to end the set.

In an attempt to turn things around, SDSU entered set two more aggressively and pulled ahead with a six point lead, 8-2. After a timeout by BYU, the Cougars fought back to close in the lead 9-10, however, only able to land a tie at 12-12. The Aztecs kept applying the pressure, but blocks by Hosford and Walker and two service aces from Porter gave BYU the first lead of the game, 19-18. Building on the new direction, BYU came together with blocks from Hosford and Dyer and kills by Walker and a final kill from Dyer to seal the deal with a win, 25-20.

Going in for the sweep, BYU came into set three ready to battle. Both teams were back-and-forth with neither one able to gain a lead of more than two points. Tied at 11-11, the Aztecs rose ahead taking the lead 15-12. Not giving up, the Cougars fought back, but were unable to take the lead, trailing behind until eventually tying the game at 22-22. With the sweep on the horizon, BYU pushed through the ties and came out on top, taking the set at 26-24, and sweeping the match.

The Cougars will return home to gear up for their next game against the University of Utah on Nov. 14. The game starts at 7:30 p.m. MT and will be held at Crimson Court.

.