No. 16 women's volleyball to face Loyola Marymount

PROVO, Utah—No. 16 BYU women's volleyball returns to California for a one-match road trip Thursday against Loyola Marymount before enjoying a weekend off.

The Cougars (15-1, 3-1) will face the Lions (10-6, 1-2) in Los Angeles at 7 p.m. PDT, then return to Provo for their bye weekend. BYU plays at home following the bye, welcoming Portland and San Francisco to the Smith Fieldhouse.

BYU is looking to bounce back after suffering its first loss of the season Saturday to Saint Mary’s on the road.

Despite the loss, the Cougars still have the best overall record in the West Coast Conference and two Cougars are still in the top 20 in NCAA Division I volleyball statistics.

Senior setter Heather Hannemann comes in at No. 9 for assists per set with 11.96. Middle blocker Nicole Warner jumped to No. 6 for blocks per set with 1.57. At No. 21 for points per set, Jennifer Hamson averages 4.93.

The team is No. 3 in hitting percentage (.323) and No. 10 in kills per set (14.65). BYU also has the fourth-best season record in the division, tied with North Carolina State and Kansas State.

Loyola Marymount comes off a non-conference win against CSU Bakersfield, defeating the Roadrunners 3-0. In the Lions’ last conference match, the team fell to San Diego in four close sets. Since the start of league play, Loyola Marymount has also lost to San Francisco (who BYU defeated 3-1 Thursday) and defeated Saint Mary’s (who beat BYU 3-1 Saturday).

Kathleen Luft leads the Lions with 4.10 kills per set, helped out by Hannah Tedrow’s 8.24 assists average. Leading the back row for the Lions is Betsi Metter with 4.85 digs per set and Litara Keil leads at the net with 1.07 blocks per set.

BYU leads the series with Loyola Marymount 4-0-0. In the teams’ last matchup in 2011, BYU won 3-2.

How to watch

Live video streaming is available for free on the Loyola Marymount website. Two live stat options are available—Game Tracker and Stat Broadcast.