Led by middle blocker Brielle Kemavor, No. 19 BYU concluded its non-conference play with a sweep against Utah Valley (25-8, 25-16, 25-15) at the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday night.

The Cougars (7-3, 0-0 Big 12) were led by Elli Mortensen and Kemavor, who combined for 20 kills. Kemavor tied her career best on the night in both blocks and kills with ten each.

BYU hit a percentage of .346 and had a total of 37 kills, while holding UVU to a -.022 hitting percentage. The Cougars also recorded 14 blocks, 34 digs, 35 assists and eight aces.

The Cougars opened the first set with two kills from Mortensen and a service ace from Hannah Billeter. After trading a few points, BYU scored four-straight off kills from Kjersti Strong and an ace from Mortensen, forcing UVU’s first timeout at 8-3, BYU. Following the timeout, Claire Little scored her first kill of the game and Strong dropped in a service ace, leading to a second Wolverines’ timeout.

BYU gained further ground after the timeout, scoring eight-straight points to lengthen their lead to 21-6. Kemavor and Blaykli Bobik scored the final two kills of the set, sealing the Cougar’s first-set victory at 25-8. BYU scored nine of their 25 points off of blocks, and Mortensen and Kemavor combined for six kills in the set. The Cougars hit .357 and held the Wolverines at a hitting percentage of -.192.

UVU kept the score close to start the second set as each team traded kills to get to 6-6. BYU scored the next five points off kills from Little and Kemavor and a service ace from Alex Bower, and the Wolverines took their first timeout of the set. BYU came out of the timeout up 11-6, but UVU quickly came back with three-straight points.

The Cougars scored three-straight points of their own off kills from Mortensen, Bower and Little, putting them up 20-13, and the Wolverines took a second timeout. UVU came back after the timeout with three kills, but Bobik sealed the second set with another set-winning kill, and BYU won the set 25-16. The Cougars hit .440 on the set, with 13 kills from Mortensen, Little, Kemavor, Bower and Bobik.

The Wolverines scored the first two points of the set, but the Cougars made it 4-2 with four-straight points off kills from Kemavor and Mortensen and a service ace by Billeter. BYU scored another six points with kills from Strong and Mortensen, putting them up 10-4 and leading to UVU’s first timeout of the set. The teams traded kills after the timeout, and another three-straight points by the Cougars lengthened their lead to 17-7, forcing a second timeout for the Wolverines.

UVU scored another eight points after their timeout, but kills from Kemavor, Bobik and Little kept them in check. BYU secured a three-set sweep 25-15 with an ace from Mia Lee. The Cougars recorded another 13 kills in the third set and held the Wolverines to a .000 hitting percentage. BYU also tallied another three service aces and 12 digs.

The Cougars will return to the Smith Fieldhouse on Thursday, Sept. 26 for their first Big 12 match of the season, facing new conference member Colorado. The game will be streamed at 7 p.m. MDT on ESPN+.

UVU women’s soccer wins at San Diego State

Utah Valley extended its winning streak to three matches with a 4-2 road victory over Mountain West foe San Diego State on Sunday afternoon at the SDSU Sports Deck.

UVU finishes non-league play with a 6-4-1 record, having played eight of its 11 matches on the road. San Diego State falls to 2-5-1 on the year. UVU has now won three straight and has picked up wins in four of its last five matches.

“We’re on a three-game win streak, and I thought we created a lot of great goal-scoring opportunities tonight,” said Utah Valley head coach Chris Lemay. “It was fantastic to see multiple players find the back of the net again. I’m really proud of what we’ve accomplished, especially given how tough this non-conference stretch has been. The team continues to grow, and we’re building momentum as we head into WAC play.”

Utah Valley was awarded a corner kick in the 11th minute and capitalized. Kate Shirts sent the corner into the box, where it was deflected by a San Diego State defender before finding Faith Webber, who one-touched it into the back of the net to give the Wolverines a 1-0 lead.

Ruby Hladek saved the ball from going out near the end line and passed it to an open Cortney Cobabe in the middle of the box. Cobabe one-timed it into the goal to double Utah Valley’s lead to 2-0 in the 64th minute.

In the 76th minute, Mia Owens sent a pass from beyond midfield to Quincy Bonds down the right side. Bonds carried the ball forward and delivered it to Sarah Oyler inside the box, where Oyler fired a right-footed shot past the SDSU keeper, extending the lead to 3-0.

Just two minutes later, Jasmine Lim won the ball near midfield and sent a well-placed pass to Ashley Garcia. Garcia collected the ball at the top of the box, maneuvered around the SDSU keeper, and calmly slotted the ball into the net, giving Utah Valley a commanding 4-0 lead in the 78th minute.

San Diego State scored a pair of late goals, with Carlin Blake netting one in the 79th minute and Alexyz Nakamoto adding another in the 88th, cutting the Wolverines’ lead to 4-2.

Utah Valley dominated the stat sheet, outshooting San Diego State 31-9, including a 13-4 advantage in shots on goal. Webber tallied a game-high 14 shots, three of them on target. Nixan Jackson added six shots, with two on goal. UVU held a 5-3 edge in corner kicks.

CJ Graham earned the win in goal for the Wolverines, recording two saves.

Utah Valley now turns its attention to Western Athletic Conference play. The Wolverines will travel to Texas to take on Tarleton State on Saturday, Sept. 28, in Stephenville. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. (MT), and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

Wolverine runner Mo Guled wins Roy Griak Invitational

Utah Valley University’s Mo Guled earned his second meet championship this season, winning the 38th Roy Griak Invitational on Friday morning at Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights, Minn. The 25th-ranked Wolverine women were edged by host Minnesota for the team title while the UVU men finished sixth.

Guled was seventh after 3,000 meters and moved into the lead about halfway through the Men’s Gold 8k. He began to pull away over the last 2k, winning in 24:55.3 to become UVU’s first winner in the team’s sixth trip to the Roy Griak.

“Mo winning is a huge accomplishment. We’ve never had anyone come here and win this, so very proud of him and his efforts. We’re on a great trajectory and will continue to get better,” said head coach Scott Houle of Guled and the men’s squad. “This course is probably one of the most difficult courses in the country. There’s very little flat area other than when you hit the bottom, you flatten out for a few steps and go right back up; you flatten out for a few steps, then go right back down. Overall, I think we handled today well and in a nice college cross-country atmosphere.”

Caila Odekirk was the top finisher for Utah Valley’s women, coming in sixth overall in 21:43.1. Oakley Olson (21:53.0) was ninth, Anna Martin (21:55.1) finished 10th, Allie Warner (22:02.6) was 12th, and Julie Sumsion (22:05.0) was the fifth scorer and finished 16th.

“The Girls race went really well with Caila leading the way for us. We have a lot of new faces on the women’s side and we’re figuring ourselves out. I think we’re definitely in a good position with where we’re at compared to our past teams,” said Houle.

Minnesota took the top two spots, with Alie Weimer (21:08.5) taking first and Emma Atkinson (21:13.7) in second. The Gophers finished with 47 points to edge Utah Valley’s 53 points to win on their home course. The Women’s Gold 6k featured 17 teams and 211 competitors.

“Today was really hard trying to track down the two Minnesota runners,” he said. “Those two low sticks are pretty dang good and that definitely makes a big impact on the race, so I think finishing second behind Minnesota was really good.”

Behind Guled for the Wolverine men were Wyatt Mortenson (25:42.6) and Gilbert Olivas (25:42.7) in 27th and 28th, respectively. Adam Bunker (24:54.0) finished 41st and Andrew Blackham (26:17.7) rounded out the men’s scoring with a 65th-place finish in the 17-team, 194-athlete race. Wyoming won the team title on the men’s side, finishing with 63 points.

Guled also won the UVU Invitational to open the season on Aug. 30 at Scera Park. He was also named WAC Cross Country Athlete of the Week on Monday after his showing at last week’s BYU Autumn Classic.

Utah Valley will be off next week before heading to Cedar City for the Color Country Invitational on Friday, Oct. 4.

BYU swim and dive enjoys alumni return

BYU swim and dive showcased its 2024-25 team while welcoming over 20 alumni back to the Richards Building Pool on Saturday morning.

“We love having these familiar faces back,” said BYU head swim and dive coach Tamber McAllister. “Our alumni created an amazing legacy at BYU and when they’re around us, our athletes feel that legacy and want to live up to it.”

Current and former divers combined into five teams with trio of freshman Bryce Roper and alums Cody Dreesen and Mickey Strauss taking the top spot.

Seven different men’s swimmers won events on Saturday, led by 2024 All-Big 12 performers Jordan Tiffany, Tanner Edwards and Diego Camacho Salgado.

Tiffany recorded his third Richards Building Pool record with a 48.09 in a winning effort in the 100 individual medley. The 2024 Big 12 100 fly champion also won the 100 fly at the Alumni Meet with a time of 46.28.