Blue Cougars Fall To Red Cougars

PROVO -- In the third game of the Molten Classic, the BYU women's volleyball team (3-5) were unable to come out with a win during a five set nail-biter against the Houston Cougars in red (2-6) Saturday morning in the Smith Fieldhouse.

“We’re obviously disappointed in our performance this morning,” said BYU head coach Shay Goulding. “The truth is, this morning doesn’t have anything to do with tonight. So I told the girls to have a clean slate, forget about it, get ready, come back and be a completely new team.”

Despite the loss, true freshman Jennifer Hamson recorded a game-high 15 kills for BYU, while Lucy Charuk of Houston tallied 14 kills and Ingrida Zauere had 12.

The Cougars in blue created a comfortable lead for themselves right off the bat in the first set after a 7-0 run, putting the score at 6-2. Hamson contributed in kills, recording five for the set while setter Kiana Rogers totaled ten assists. Houston fought back, but it wasn’t enough to make up the difference and BYU took the first set 25-19.

Houston came into the second set armed and ready with a 10-0 run on BYU putting them in the lead 10-3. Charuk of the Cougars in red supplied a set-high four kills, while Amanda Carson tallied seven digs.

BYU was unable to recover from the point deficiency, losing the set 25-16.

BYU’s Kimberli Boswell made her collegiate debut contributing a kill for the Cougars in the third set.

However, Houston started off hot and kept the lead through the third set as Ashley Applequist earned five kills. Although BYU rallied hard, they couldn’t catch up and the Cougars in red took the third set 25-17.

The fourth set had a change of pace as the Cougars in blue had a quick 3-0 run putting them four points ahead at 6-2. BYU was able to keep that lead throughout with the help of Hamson as she tallied four kills and two digs.

Houston had a few runs of its own, but BYU stayed strong and carried its lead to the end winning the fourth set 25-19 and forcing the match to a full five sets.

A back-and-forth fifth set ended in a tough loss for BYU as Houston took the set and the match 15-13.

BYU will take to the court again Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in its final match of the Molten Classic against Wichita State.

Wichita State vs. Loyola Marymount

PROVO -- In game four of the BYU Molten Classic, the Shockers of Wichita State took down the Lions of Loyola Marymount in three sets (25-23, 25-19, 25-23) to become the first team with two wins in the tournament.

Wichita State jumped off to a fast start in game one, taking the early lead at 3-0. The Shockers maintained their advantage until Loyola Marymount stole the lead at 17-16. The Lions were unable to hold on to their lead for long, as the Shockers rallied around junior Mary Elizabeth Hooper, who had 21 assists in the set and led a 25-23 Shocker win.

Game two started in favor of the Lions, who started the match with four straight points and extended the lead to 5-1. Loyola Marymount was unable to hold on to the early lead for long, as the Shockers came storming back to take the lead for good at 9-8, and went on to win 25-19.

Wichita State’s key advantage came in attacking percentage as they finished at .297 compared to the Lions .167 percentage. The Shockers also had two players, Emily Adney and Camri Zwiesler, tie for the game lead in kills with four each.

In the third and final game of the match, Loyola Marymount took control early and held a four point advantage as late as 20-16. Wichita State would not give in, and battled back by outscoring the Lions 9-3 to finish off the match with a second 25-23 set victory.

The Shockers finished the match with a .342 attacking , compared with Loyola Marymount’s .194. Hooper led the match with 45 assists and Adney led with 17 total kills. Leaders for the Lions included Felicia Arriola with 12 kills and Olivia Baily with 16 assists.

The final two games of the Molten Classic will take place Saturday evening, with Houston taking on Loyola Marymount at 5:00 pm MST and BYU facing off with Wichita State at 7:30 MST.