SANTA CLARA, Calif. – No. 10 BYU women’s volleyball notched its 11th-straight win over Santa Clara, sweeping the WCC opponent on Thursday in the Leavey Event Center (25-17, 25-17, 25-9).

The win puts BYU at 13-1 for the season, including a 3-0 record in WCC play.

Highlights included BYU snagging its second-highest hitting percentage of the season, at .425. Boasting 43 kills, the Cougars dominated the Broncos offensively, holding their opponent to 29 kills and a .080 clip.

Graduate opposite hitter Kenzie Koerber led the team with 14 kills, eight digs and six blocks. Senior outside hitter Taylen Ballard-Nixon followed close behind with 11 kills and earned the team’s highest clip, at .550.

BYU started off strong with a 5-0 run in Set 1, thanks to two kills by sophomore outside hitter Erin Livingston. The Broncos made it on the board with two kills of their own, however, the Cougars extended their lead, 10-2.

Santa Clara’s Michelle Shaffer and Sophia Tulino put down four combined kills to close the gap to 13-7. Santa Clara went on a 4-0 run after two consecutive kills by Julia Sangiacomo and two attack errors by BYU, bringing the score to a close 17-14.

Ultimately, four errors by Santa Clara late into the set allowed BYU to take the win, 25-17.

Santa Clara put down two kills in Set 2, earning its first lead of the day, 3-1. However, a quick two kills by both Ballard-Nixon and junior middle blocker Heather Gneiting put the Cougars back on top, 6-3. On a run, junior setter Whitney Bower had a kill, BYU’s fifth in a row. An ace by the Broncos and three attack errors by BYU evened up the score, 10-10.

The Cougars set off on a 4-0 run, but the Broncos managed six consecutive kills, taking back their lead, 15-14. Two kills by Koerber and a kill by Ballard-Nixon propelled BYU ahead, 17-15.

BYU tacked on a 5-0 run, including another two kills by Ballard-Nixon. Santa Clara tallied seven total errors in the set and had a clip of .112, giving the Cougars the set win at 25-17.

The Cougars quickly racked up a score of 4-0 in Set 3 after two kills by Koerber. Two errors by BYU allowed Santa Clara to come back at 7-4. After a kill by Bower, BYU led by five points at 10-5.

The Cougars put down seven kills, including two from both middle blocker Kennedy Eschenberg and Koerber, bringing the score to 22-7. Koerber slammed her fifth and sixth kills of the set in the last few moments, solidifying a win for the Cougars at 25-9.

Up next, San Francisco will host BYU in the War Memorial Gym on Saturday, Oct. 2 at 12 p.m. PDT

UVU women’s volleyball earns road win at Chicago State

CHICAGO, Ill. – Utah Valley knocked off conference foe, Chicago State, 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-19, 25-17) on the road to pick up the Wolverines first WAC win of the season. With the win, the Wolverines improve to 6-8 on the season, including 1-2 in WAC play. The Cougars fall to 9-6 on the year and 1-2 in conference play.

Chicago State got out to an early 4-2 lead before Utah Valley used a 5-1 run to retake the lead, 7-5. Both teams went back and forth until Sadie Hamson and Kazna Tanuvasa led a 10-2 surge to go up, 21-13. UVU coasted to the win in the set, 25-18, to go up 1-0 in the match.

Tanuvasa led the Wolverines to an early 4-2 lead in the second set but CSU countered with a 8-2 run to go up 10-6. Jules Fink helped UVU get back into the set, tying the set up at 16-16 before Kristen Bell sparked a 6-3 run to put the Wolverines up, 22-19. Utah Valley went cold down the stretch as the Cougars scored six of the final seven points of the set to take set, 25-23, tying the match up at 1-1.

After a back and forth start to the third set, Utah Valley went on a 5-1 run to go up, 8-5. CSU countered with a 5-1 run of its own but UVU scored three-straight points to go back up 12-10. Both teams battled back and forth before the Wolverines took over down the stretch with a 9-4 to take the third set, 25-19, to go up 2-1.

Tanuvasa got UVU out to a quick 9-4 lead in the fourth set. After a pair of Cougar points the Wolverines took control of the set, using a 6-1 run to go up 15-7. Chicago State was unable to challenge from there as Tanvuasa scored the final three kills for the Wolverines as UVU took the final set, 25-17.

Tanuvasa led the Wolverines with 18 kills to go along with 12 digs and a career-high four aces. Fink added 10 kills and three blocks and Bell had a team-high 18 digs to go along with nine kills. Kalea Kennedy finished with six kills and a season-high five blocks and Kendra Nock had a team-high seven blocks. Abbie Miller led UVU with 26 kills and nine digs while Natalie Palmer chipped in 16 assists and nine digs. Bryton Bishop added 12 digs, six assists, and an ace.

The Wolverines continues on the road as UVU heads to Seattle U to take on the Redhawks on Oct. 7. UVU will take on California Baptist on Oct. 9 before heading to Dixie State on Oct. 14 before hosting the Trailblazers at home on Oct. 16.

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