Cougars Complete First Sweep, Break Streak

SAN -- Breaking the eight-match losing streak, the BYU women’s volleyball team (4-12, 1-2 MWC) tallied its first sweep of the season at San Diego State (7-10, 2-3 MWC) Thursday (25-19, 25-23, 25-23).

"Everything that happened tonight was what we've been doing in practice all season, but it finally all fell into place tonight in a match," BYU head coach Shay Goulding said. "We gained confidence early on and made fewer mistakes than the other team to win it."

Senior Christina Measom came off the bench to lead the squad on the attack with nine kills while senior Stephanie Snow followed with eight on a .368 clip. Sophomore Nicole Warner had seven blocks while freshman Jennifer Hamson finished with six.

Senior setter Kiana Rogers had 26 assists on the night while libero Kendalyn Hartsock anchored the back row with 11 digs.

The Cougars got out to a 4-0 lead in set one, powered by kills from Christie Carpenter and Snow, as well as two-straight service aces by Hamson. The Aztecs gradually chipped away at the score, coming within one point at 17-16 after a 5-1 run. The Cougars answered back with a 6-0 run ending at 23-16 and after a 3-0 Aztec run, an SDSU service error and a kill from Carpenter ended set one 25-19.

"It was a different feel on the court," said Goulding. "It started with the solid play from Jennifer Hamson early in the first set that gave us the confidence to maintain our energy throughout the match."

In set two BYU got out to a 2-0 lead and maintained it throughout the set. Errors plagued the Aztecs, giving away 15 of the Cougars’ points.

Set three had the Cougars and Aztecs battling for the lead the entire game. BYU with a 19-14 cushion let its guard down, the Aztecs giving it a scare with a late 8-2 run, gaining the lead at 22-21. Solid play from Warner behind the service line put the Cougars up 24-22. Snow finished off the set and match with a kill to win 25-23, 3-0.

Up next for the Cougars is Utah Valley University Saturday at 7 p.m. in Orem. The match will be televised live locally on UVU-TV (Comcast Ch. 17).