BYU women’s volleyball has has announced three additional signees to its 2024 signing class.

Elina Mortensen, Lulu Uluave and transfer Kjersti Strong will join the program this summer.

Mortensen is a 6-foot-2 outside hitter out of Draper, Utah. Named a 2023 AVCA girls high school All-America honorable mention, she is also a two-time Utah 6A all-state first team honoree and 2021 Utah 6A all-state second team honoree.

Uluave is a 5-foot-8 libero out of La’ie, Hawai’i. She is a two-time all-state Fab 15 member, three-time all-ILH first team honoree and two-time Hawai’i state runner-up at Punahou School in Honolulu.

A graduate transfer from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, Strong is a 6-foot-3 middle blocker. After playing two seasons at Snow College, she spent the last two years in Moraga at Saint Mary’s, being named an AVCA Pacific North All-Region honorable mention in 2023.

The trio joins the Cougars for the 2024 season beginning in the fall semester. Four other members of the Class of 2024 enrolled at BYU this winter and are already practicing with the team: University of Utah transfer libero Kaieva Johnson and freshmen Blaykli Bobik (6-1 outside hitter from Queen Creek, Ariz.), Alex Bower (5-11 setter from Nampa, Idaho) and Abby Hoybjerg (6-2 middle blocker from El Dorado Hills, Calif.)

Indoor track programs heads to first Big 12 Championships

The BYU indoor track and field team will travel to Lubbock, Texas to compete for the program’s first Big 12 Conference championship Friday and Saturday.

BYU men’s track and field will be represented by 26 men competing throughout the weekend, comprising 10 freshmen, two sophomores, 11 juniors and three seniors. Seven of the men competing have achieved top-10 program marks this season.

Aidan Troutner and Lucas Bons each currently rank within the top-25 nationally in the mile. Troutner stands at No. 13, having run 3:59.2 (3:54.51 with altitude conversion) at the 2024 Cougar Invitational on Jan. 11. Bons is No. 18, having run 3:54.82 in Boston, Massachusetts at the Boston University John Thomas Terrier Classic on Jan. 26. Troutner ranks first among Big 12 athletes in the national rankings with Bons in second.

Eli Hazlett clocked a No. 3 all-time BYU race of 46.43 (46.32 with altitude conversion) in the 400-meter at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational on Feb. 9. Hazlett currently ranks 28th nationally and seventh out of Big 12 competition.

“We are excited for the opportunity to compete at the Big 12 Championships,” said sprints/hurdles coach Kyle Grossarth. “My athletes are ready to run well. They are prepared and we expect great things to happen.”

The BYU women enter the Big 12 Championships with three No. 1 conference rankings, three No. 2 rankings and three No. 3 rankings.

Sami Oblad ranks No. 1 in the conference in the 600-yard entering the weekend. Oblad’s seed time is 1:17.59 (converted from her 600-meter time of 1:26.89). Meghan Hunter also ranks No. 1 in the 800m as she ran 2:02.17 at the Husky Classic. The DMR squad that broke BYU’s school record last weekend also ranks No. 1 in the conference with a 10:44.67 time.

Cierra Tidwell Allphin ranks No. 2 in the high jump with her BYU record-setting clearance of 1.89m/6-2.5 set at the 2023 BYU December Invitational. Jenna Hutchins ranks No. 2 in the 5,000m with her personal-best of 15:30.99 at the John Thomas Terrier Classic in Boston. Rounding out the No. 2 rankings is Lexy Halladay-Lowry in the 3,000m. Halladay-Lowry’s personal best in the event is a 8:51.00 time at the Husky Classic.

Riley Chamberlain ranks third in both the mile and the 3,000m. Chamberlain’s personal-best times in the events are 4:30.26 and 8:51.21, respectively. Halladay-Lowry also ranks third in the 5,000m with her personal-best outing of 15:31.03 at the John Thomas Terrier Classic in Boston.

Newsletter