Comeback Cougars Take Rebels in Five

LAS VEGAS -- The BYU women’s volleyball team improved its record to 10-15 overall (5-6 MWC) with a 3-2 win over UNLV (8-19, 3-10 MWC) Thursday.

"I'm thrilled that we won tonight, every win for us is a big win," BYU head coach Shay Goulding said. "It was crucial that we were able to distribute the ball to a number of different players and not just one, thus winning the match tonight."

Five Cougars were in double-digit kills with junior Christie Carpenter leading the way with 16. Senior Stephanie Snow added 14 while Nicole Warner, Jennifer Hamson and Christina Measom all had 11.

Senior setter Kiana Rogers distributed the ball 55 times and added two service aces and 10 digs. For the third game this season, Hamson tallied three aces while libero Kendalyn Hartsock finished with 21 digs. Freshman Coriann Clark added 12 digs in the victory.

"Both Kendalyn and Coriann picked up some key digs, which I think is really nice because that has been one of our weaknesses in the past," Goulding said. "Those girls are seeing the game and playing at a higher level."

In set one the Rebels got out to a 3-0 start, the Cougars soon finding themselves six points behind. After a timeout the Cougars regrouped to post a 5-1 run, and later two-straight Snow kills knotted the score at 14. After back-and-forth play, the Cougars finally fell in set one with UNLV posting four-straight to win set one, 25-22.

Three-straight kills from Snow, Measom and Carpenter ending at 15-11 gave the Cougars their final lead of the second set to win it 25-22. Tying the match at one set apiece.

A 5-0 run to start the third set gave the Cougars a cushion to dominate the entire set, putting away the Rebels 25-14. While many players contributed to the win on the attack, Snow posted four kills alone.

In the fourth UNLV got out to a 4-1 lead, causing the Cougars to play catch up, but were able to post a 3-0 run to tie the score at seven. Later the Rebels tallied a 4-0 run to take a five-point lead. The Cougars battled back, but were unable to come out with the match, falling in set four 26-24.

With a 4-1 start, the Cougars were ready to win the match in set five. The Rebels battled back to tie the score at six, but the Cougars answered with three-straight points off of a Snow kill, a service ace by Hartsock and a block by Warner and Rogers. Maintaining the lead, the Cougars finished off the set and match 15-8, 3-2.

The Cougars will next face Air Force on the road at 1 p.m. MT on Saturday before coming back home to host TCU Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse.