College Roundup: No. 14 BYU women’s volleyball survives upset scare, defeats Lipscomb 3-1
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- The BYU women’s volleyball team celebrates a 3-1 win against Lipscomb at the Smith Fieldhouse on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024.
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- BYU freshman Alex Bower sets a teammate during a women’s college volleyball match at the Smith Fieldhouse on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024.
Heavy underdog Lipscomb executed its game plan very well against No. 14 BYU on Thursday at the Nike Invitational.
Very well, but not good enough to pull off the upset.
The Bisons serve game was deadly, posting 15 aces and keeping the Cougars off balance all night long. Lipscomb nearly won Set 1 and did win Set 2, but BYU managed to lock down defensively to finish with a 3-1 (26-24, 19-25, 25-19, 25-17) victory in front of 3,335 fans at the Smith Fieldhouse.
BYU (4-0) trailed 24-22 in the first set but a tandem block from Kjersti Strong and Kate Prior set the two teams to extra points. The Cougars got to set point on a Bisons error and took the win on a kill by freshman Elli Mortensen.
The visitors fired off six aces in the second set and led 21-16 on a kill by Sophia Hudepohl. At set point, Courtney Jones pounded a kill for a 25-19 victory and a 1-1 tie in the match.
The Cougars found a solid defensive effort in the third and fourth sets, holding Lipscomb to hitting percentages of .100 and .037, respectively. BYU, meanwhile, hit .385 and .435 to come out on top.
Mortensen, Claire Little and Strong as each recorded double-digit kills. Outside hitters Mortensen and Little tallied 13 kills apiece while middle blocker Strong had 12.
BYU led the nation in hitting percentage last week at .407 and maintained a similar percentage of .393 on the match. The Cougars held the Bisons to .207 hitting percentage.
True freshman Alex Bower had 39 assists and fellow freshman, libero Lulu Uluave tallied ten digs in her first career start. Freshman outside hitter Blaykli Bobik saw her first action of the season, recording four kills, two blocks and a dig.
Jones led Lipscomb, which won the A-SUN Conference regular season title last season and returned five starters, with 12 kills. Berkley Mischler added 10 for the Bisons (2-2), who take on No. 19 Georgia Tech in the Fieldhouse on Friday at 7 p.m. MT.
BYU (4-0) will face Georgia Tech on Saturday in the Fieldhouse at 7 p.m. MT. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
BYU cross country begins 2024 with victory
TWIN FALLS, Idaho — BYU women’s cross country opened up its 2024 season with a win at the College of Southern Idaho’s Dr. Thad Scholes XC Classic Friday morning.
The Cougars scored 29 points in their first-place finish. Five of BYU’s eight competing women primarily compete in the 800-meters in track and field. Friday’s race was also a cross country career debut for Lexi Goff, Kylie Olsen and Elyse Jessen. Four Cougars placed in the Top 10, led by Goff (second, 18:21.0). Vanessa Alder was third (18:23.1), Raygan Peterson fifth (18:23.6) and Lizzie Dildine eighth (18:54.9).
“Coming from a middle-distance background, I have never raced longer than an 800 meters,” Goff said. “Cross country is tough and I now have an even deeper respect for everyone who does the sport. Most of us found out last minute that we were going to race, so it was more about having fun. Any chance I have to line up and rep the ‘Y’ is a good day.”
No. 11 Utah State shuts out UVU women’s soccer
No. 11 Utah State scored three first-half goals to secure a 3-0 win over Utah Valley on Thursday night at Clyde Field. Utah Valley drops its third straight game, falling to 2-3-1 overall on the season. Utah State improves to a perfect 6-0-0 on the year.
“Ironically, I thought we played well tonight,” Utah Valley head coach Chris Lemay said. “We had a couple of unfortunate scenarios that turned into goals for them, so credit to Utah State for capitalizing on their opportunities. But overall, I think if we play like that consistently, we’re going to win a lot more games than we lose. I was disappointed in the Virginia game and the second half against Long Beach, but tonight I told the players to keep their heads high because there was a lot more good than bad in that match. We’ll take what we can grow from and keep building towards playing our best soccer in October and November.”
Kaitlyn Richins sent a free kick from past midfield into the box that bounced up and over UVU’s keeper and into the goal, giving Utah State an early 1-0 lead in the third minute. The Aggies extended their lead to 2-0 in the 40th minute after Kate Christian made a move around UVU defenders, breaking loose inside the box before firing a shot into the left side of the goal. Austin Miller made it 3-0 for Utah State in the 43rd minute, picking up a deflected save from Utah Valley’s keeper and sending a shot across the line to give the Aggies a commanding lead. Utah State outshot Utah Valley 22-13 on the night, with a 12-6 advantage in shots on goal.
Faith Webber led the Wolverines with four shots, including two on frame. Manthy Brady and Nixan Jackson each had two shots. Utah Valley had eight corner kicks to USU’s four. CJ Graham played the first half in goal for UVU, while Leah Wolf played the second half for the Wolverines. Graham had three saves, while Wolf tallied six.
Utah Valley will now travel to Salt Lake City to begin a three-game road swing as the Wolverines take on in-state foe Utah on Sunday night. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
UVU men’s soccer holds on for road victory
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Isaac Emojong scored his third goal of the season and Ben Williams made seven saves to secure a gritty 1-0 win over the Florida Atlantic Owls on Thursday night.
The Wolverines were outshot 14-3, including 7-2 on goal, but Williams had the best night of his young UVU career to secure his first D-1 clean sheet and move the Wolverines to a 3-0-1 record. Williams’ seven saves are tied for the sixth-most in a game in program history and the most since Joseph Wheelwright’s seven against UNLV in 2021.
The win secures Utah Valley’s best start by win percentage through four games since the 2015 season, when the team started 4-0. The only other time the Wolverines have gone four games unbeaten to start the season was in Kyle Beckerman’s first season at the helm in 2021, going 2-0-2 through the first four matches.
Utah Valley withstood a furious start by FAU, with the Owls rattling off four shots in the opening 10 minutes and seven before the Wolverines could get one of their own. Utah Valley made that first shot count, taking a 1-0 advantage in the 24th minute.
Ben Ortiz sent a direct pass to Omar Yebya, who flicked it on to a breaking Emojong and buried the left-footed strike just inside the near post.
Williams made six of his seven saves in the first half, including two in quick succession following Emojong’s opener. Williams stopped a deflected shot in the 26th minute, then made a spectacular diving save in the 27th off of his fingertips and behind for a corner.
The Utah Valley defense locked down in the second half, holding the Owls to just two shots total. Williams made his final save of the night in the 57th minute on a long-range effort that skipped trickily off the turf, but Williams was able to pounce on the loose ball before any FAU players could reach it.
Utah Valley remains in the Sunshine State until Sunday when the Wolverines head to Fort Myers to take on the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles, with kickoff scheduled for 5 p.m. MT. The match will not be streamed, but live stats will be available at UVUStats.com.
