Utes Take Deseret Duel

SALT LAKE CITY -- In a five-set match at Crimson Court, the BYU women’s volleyball team (9-14, 4-5 MWC) fell to Utah (11-11, 6-3 MWC) 3-2 (25-18, 20-25, 25-21, 12-25, 6-15) for the sixth-consecutive time.

"We had a lot of bright spots tonight and had a handle on them for the majority of the evening," BYU head coach Shay Goulding said. "Our passing broke down in the fourth set and we couldn't get going again."

Jennifer Hamson and Stephanie Snow led the Cougars on the attack with 14 and 13 kills, respectively, with Kiana Rogers distributing the ball 42 times. Senior Christina Measom was also in double-digits at the net with 12 kills.

Three Cougars were in double-digit digs, led by libero Kendalyn Hartsock (12), Kiana Rogers (11) and Brooke Soon (10). Both Nicole Warner and Hamson added seven blocks.

Starting out the match strong, the Cougars gained a quick five-point lead off of Utah errors and two-straight kills by Measom at 9-4. After a Utah kill by Erin Redd, the Cougars posted another 3-0 run with kills by Warner and Measom to gain a seven-point lead at 12-5. Maintaining the lead the rest of the set and earning an eight-point lead at one point, the Cougars silenced the crowd and put away set one 25-18.

The Utes came back in the second set, tallying a 4-0 run after the Cougars began the set 3-1. Another 6-0 Ute run had the Cougars playing catch-up the rest of the set, falling 25-20 and knotting the match at 1-1 going into the locker rooms.

Hamson leading the way with five kills, the Cougars won set three 25-21. Solid blocking earned a 5-0 run for the Cougars ending at 13-8. The Utes continued to chip away at the BYU lead, and a late 6-1 Utah run gave the Cougars a scare at 23-21, but Snow and a Ute hitting error gave BYU its last two points of the set.

In the fourth set Utah picked up steam, the Cougars unable to grasp the lead. The Cougars fell 25-12, sending the match to five sets.

Keeping up the momentum, the Utes ran away with the fifth set 15-6. Utah senior Karolina Bartkowiak tallied her 1,000th kill of her career with a kill at 5-2.

"Tonight was the rivalry which is always tough, but keeping the rest of conference in perspective, we still have the rest to keep our heads up and keep working hard," said Goulding.

The Cougars will be back in the Smith Fieldhouse Saturday Nov. 6 to take on San Diego State at 7 p.m. MT.