Middle blocker Whitney Llarenas’s career-high 13 kills helped No. 16 BYU outlast No. 17 Pepperdine (25-12, 18-25, 25-21, 25-22) to win its fourth-straight match and earn head coach Heather Olmstead’s 200th-career win.

“It feels great to have Cougar nation here supporting us,” said Olmstead. “It was a hard-fought win and match for us. I was really proud of the group.”

Achieving the 200-career win milestone in just 225 games, Olmstead is the fastest in NCAA Division I women’s volleyball history to hit the 200-win mark, surpassing the University of Hawaii’s Dave Shoji, who reached 200 wins in 236 games back in 1987.

BYU hit .219 in the match, downing 54 kills while holding Pepperdine to a .126 clip. Three Cougars finished with double-digit kills: Llarenas’ career-high 13, Erin Livingston (13) and Heather Gneiting (12). Gneiting also sent back six blocks. Setter Whitney Bower posted a double-double, recording 41 assists and 13 digs.

Going 2-0 to start WCC play, the Cougars will head to Portland next week for their first road trip of conference play, visiting the Pilots on Thursday, Sept. 29.

BYU men’s cross country wins Cowboy Jamboree

Powered by the running of Casey Clinger and Aubrey Frentheway, BYU men’s and women’s cross country posted team podium finishes against a challenging field at the 84th Cowboy Jamboree on Saturday morning at the Oklahoma State University Cross Country Course.

The No. 4 men’s team claimed a first-place finish in the 8,000-meter race on Saturday morning, fielding ten harriers in competition that included 15 teams ranked in the USTFCCCA’s latest top-30 poll.

“The strongest teams in the country were here today,” said BYU men’s cross country head coach Ed Eyestone. “Casey Clinger continued to show his leadership being our first guy to finish at seventh. Joey Nokes had a phenomenal race, we knew he was ready for this based on what he’s been showing in workouts. We’re also super pleased with Christian Allen for his first race in a Cougar uniform.”

The Cougars finished with 75 total points, ahead of No. 3 Stanford (101), No. 1 Northern Arizona (110) and No. 2 Oklahoma State (118).

No. 7 BYU women’s cross country finished third in Saturday’s women’s 6,000-meter race as it totaled a score of 113 and finished ahead of No. 3 Colorado and No. 5 Stanford.

Aubrey Frentheway led the charge for the Cougars, crossing the finish at fourth overall with a time of 20:23.1. The senior from Cheyenne, Wyo. maintained her spot at the front of the pack throughout the race, even holding a lead with Everlyn Kemboi of Utah Valley at the 4k mark. Despite slipping to fourth at the finish, Frentheway preserved a top-5 finish as she fended-off Mountain Region rivals Elise Stearns and Annika Reiss of Northern Arizona.

UVU’s Everlyn Kemboi took third and the 27th-ranked Utah Valley University women finished seventh as a team. Kemboi ran the women’s 6k in 20:22.2 — not far off from her personal best — on the hilly course that will also be the site of the 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships in November.

“Eva had a great race, a smart race, and put herself right in the thick of things. I think we are starting to see that we are really good, even when we don’t have the best race as a team. We competed really well but we are definitely capable of even better than this result,” said UVU head coach Scott Houle. “To come to races like this, where you have such a loaded field, and to perform the way we did can really springboard us moving forward.”

UVU women’s soccer loses at No. 24 Portland

Despite outshooting Portland 19-10 and forcing the Pilots into eight saves, the Utah Valley University women’s soccer team fell just short in a 2-1 loss at No. 24 Portland on Saturday night at Merlo Field.

“I told the players at the end of the game that they need to keep their heads up,” said Utah Valley head coach Chris Lemay. “Overall, we performed very well. We won nearly every statistical category. We created enough chances to win, but it was one of those nights where us just wasn’t meant to be.”

After falling behind 1-0 in just the eighth minute, Utah Valley’s Faith Webber sent a pass into the box to Julianna Carter who was then fouled from behind and UVU was awarded a penalty kick in the 53rd minute. Sydney Bushman fired the penalty kick into the back of the net to tie the game, 1-1.

Portland’s Selma Licina sent a free kick into the box in the 66th minute from the left side and the MJ Roe chipped it into the goal for what would prove to be the game winner.

Utah Valley will now resume WAC play at home on Friday, Sept. 30 against California Baptist. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Wolverine women’s volleyball sweeps Seattle

Utah Valley University defeated Seattle University 3-0 (26-24, 25-20, 25-19) on Saturday afternoon inside the Lockhart Arena. UVU (7-6, 2-0) used a steady offensive attack to get past Seattle U (4-6, 0-2). Utah Valley freshman Avery Shewell had a double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs. Tori Dorius added 11 kills, and Kazna Tanuvasa had 12 double-digit kill performances for the Wolverines.

“We are home for most of our matches in the first half, and we need to win those matches to build momentum for when we play on the road later. I cannot be more pleased with how the team is responding to challenges, it is not always going to be perfect, but it is how you respond to challenges,” said UVU head coach Sam Atoa.

Abbie Miller had 25 assists in the match. The Wolverines outhit the Redhawks .241 to .139. Broadbent had a strong performance for UVU with three kills to go along with seven block assists in the match.

Utah Valley stays at home for matches against Sam Houston on Oct. 1 and Chicago State on Oct. 6 before heading on the road for one match against Seattle U on Oct. 8. Tickets for both matches are still available.

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