It was a well-played match with the Lions giving the Cougars their toughest opposition in weeks.

The 3,592 fans at the Smith Fieldhouse also witnessed the final regular-season home match for a six-member senior class as diverse as they are talented. Honored were honor Whitney Llarenas, Taylen Ballard-Nixon, Tayler Hifo, Kenzie Koerber. Kennedy Eschenberg and Gretchen Reinert.

Eschenberg is in her sixth season with the Cougars due to a redshirt year and COVID-19. There is also a fifth-year player (Ballard-Nixon), two completing their fourth year (Hifo and Llarenas) and two who are graduate transfers finishing their eligibility (Koerber and Reinert).

Eschenberg, a three-time All-American, holds a special place in the heart of BYU coach Heather Olmstead.

“I’m grateful for Kennedy,” she said. “It’s pretty incredible for me to be able to coach someone for six years, especially when they’re as amazing as Kennedy. Not only her work ethic but who she is as a person. She’s humble and she’s a team player. It’s been a really special six years.”

Ballard-Nixon, who earned her first All-American citation last season, chose to return for an additional year due to COVID.

“Oh, I’m so ready,” she said. “I mean, I’m sad, but I’m really excited to be honored. This spring before I was going to have a senior night was when I decided I was going to come back. So they were like great, we won’t do senior night for you because I wasn’t really leaving. So yeah, I’m really excited.”

A highlight in the LMU match included Eschenberg notching her 556th career block. This puts her at No. 4 in program history for all-time blocks. Additionally, she boasts No. 1 in history for all-time solo blocks, tallying 54.

“It was really good to play LMU,” Eschenberg said. “They’re a really good team. That’s what we needed, a tight, competitive match. I think it’s really good for us to have that and come out with a win. It gives us confidence.”

Overall, LMU racked up 54 kills and a .259 hitting percentage. While BYU had one less kill, 53, its clip proved to be more effective, hitting .385. Junior setter Whitney Bower contributed to the team’s solid hitting percentage with her 40 assists.

At the top of the leaderboard offensively, LMU’s Megan Rice put down 20 kills. Among the Cougars, Koerber and sophomore outside hitter Erin Livingston led with 12 kills each. Eschenberg tallied eight kills and the team’s highest clip, a .636.

Defensively, BYU dominated with 11 points from blocks, compared to LMU’s seven. Koerber led the night with six blocks, followed by junior middle blocker Heather Gneiting with five.

BYU (15-0 WCC, 25-1 overall) has three road matches to finish off conference play, including a Nov. 23 rematch at second place San Diego.

BYU women’s volleyball seniors

Taylen Ballard-Nixon

Class of 2017 from Clovis, Calif. … Married BYU basketball player Dalton Nixon in May of 2019. … Majoring in Family Life. … Was part of the Cougars’ Final Four team in 2018. … AVCA honorable mention All-American and All-WCC first team in spring of 2021. … Has totaled 631 kills in her career.

Kennedy Eschenberg

Class of 2016 from Bountiful. … Married BYU men’s volleyball player Zach Eschenberg in July of 2018. … Named WCC Freshman of the Year in 2017. … AVCA honorable mention All-American in 2018. … All-WCC first team in 2019. … AVCA third team All-American and All-WCC first team in spring of 2021. … Nominated for national Senior CLASS award. … Has totaled 779 kills and 501 block assists in her career.

Tayler Hifo

Class of 2018 from American Fork. … Married former BYU receiver Aleva Hifo in May of 2020. … Majoring in Political Science. … Was part of the 2018 Final Four team. … WCC All-Academic honorable mention in spring of 2021. … Played in 215 sets in her career as a setter and rotating in as a server. … Has 25 aces this season.

Kenzie Koerber

Played four seasons at the University of Utah, earning All-American honors three of those seasons. … Graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communications and transferred to BYU this summer. … Leads the Cougars with 277 kills (3.47 per set) and is hitting .373 while totaling 193 digs and 66 block assists. … BYU career high is 18 kills against Utah Valley.

Whitney Llarenas

Class of 2018 from Bountiful. … Married Mitch Llarenas in August of 2019. … Majoring in psychology. … Was part of Final Four team in 2018. … Has a total of 32 kills while playing in 43 career sets.

Gretchen Reinert

Played four seasons at Santa Clara. .. Graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communications and a minor in retail studies. … Father Jeff Reinert is a former BYU assistant basketball coach. … Has played in 80 sets and totaled 126 digs this season with a high of 16 against Pitt on Sept. 10.