BYU women’s volleyball swept out of NCAA Tourney in opening round for first time since 2005
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- BYU’s Elli Mortensen goes low for a dig against Loyola Chicago in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at West Lafayette, Ind., on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024.
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- The BYU women’s volleyball team breaks a huddle against Loyola Chicago in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at West Lafayette, Ind., on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024.
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- BYU’s Kjersti Strong (22) takes a swing against Loyola Chicago in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at West Lafayette, Ind., on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024.
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- BYU women’s volleyball coach Heather Olmstead talks to her team in a match against Loyola Chicago in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at West Lafayette, Ind., on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024.
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- The BYU women’s volleyball team celebrates scoring a point against Loyola Chicago in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at West Lafayette, Ind., on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024.
The BYU women’s volleyball team came into the first round of the NCAA Tournament on a three-match winning streak, including an impressive victory at 11th-ranked Kansas.
You know who wasn’t impressed?
Loyola Chicago.
The Ramblers, a mid-major program that had to upset 18th-ranked Dayton in the Atlantic 10 tournament to even get into the NCAA’s, dominated the No. 5 seed Cougars from start to finish with a 3-0 sweep (25-20, 25-21, 25-17) at Holloway Gymnasium in West Lafayette, Ind., on Thursday.
Loyola Chicago (22-11) came into the day on a 12-match winning streak and claimed their first-ever NCAA Tournament victory with a scrappy defensive game (53 digs to BYU’s 37) and timely hitting (.277).
BYU hadn’t lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament since 2005 and had advanced to at least the second round every year since 2012.
“We’re obviously disappointed in the match we just put together,” Cougar coach Heather Olmstead said. “But I’m grateful for the season we had with this group. I’m grateful for the growth and the opportunity we had to be together to learn and fight and battle. I wish it would have showed up in this match. That’s what we were talking about and trying to figure out. We’ll be able to reflect on this match, but we just didn’t quite have what it takes today and I’m not sure why.”
The Cougars exited the tournament meekly without really challenging the red-hot Ramblers, putting up dismal numbers all over the scoresheet. Leading hitter Claire Little had just eight kills on 35 swings with five errors (.086) and BYU hit only .164 as a team, nearly 100 percentage points below their season average of .261. The Cougars also had 10 service errors and sided out at a low 56.8%.
“We know our worth comes from more than just winning and losing,” Olmstead said. “We’ve learned that this year so we’re not going to be defined from the match or our performance, and that’s what we want them to know. We for sure expect to show up in the tournament and play better. They know that and they want that.”
Kjersti Strong had eight kills, hit .429 and contributed five blocks in her final game in a BYU uniform, but that was about the highlight for BYU in a miserable afternoon in Indiana.
Set 1 was close until Loyola Chicago went on a 9-1 run to move ahead 20-15. The Cougars trailed 23-20 on a Elli Mortensen kill but a service error got the Ramblers to set point and an ace from Sam Falk dropped untouched for the winner.
Loyola Chicago earned a 20-17 lead on a kill from Olivia Lovett in Set 2 and got to set point on another BYU service error. An attack from Avary DeBlieck was the winner as the Ramblers took a 2-0 lead in the match.
Needing a win in Set 3 to extend the match, the Cougars fell behind early by a 7-2 count. BYU closed to 11-10 on a Loyola Chicago attack error, but the Ramblers scored five of the next six points and claimed a 16-11 lead. The Cougars trailed by as eight, 20-12, as Loyola Chicago marched toward the victory, Marta Cvitkovic ending the match with a kill down the line.
Cvitkovic led Loyola Chicago with 13 kills and just one error on 27 swings (.444). The Ramblers will play the Purdue-Western Michigan winner in Friday’s second round.
“I think that we can definitely lean on each other and lean into this pain and just remember how it feels,” BYU freshman middle blocker Brielle Kemavor said. “The building points are to target things we need to personally get better at and mesh together as a team. I’m super grateful for this opportunity. If we have to go down, I wouldn’t want to go down with any other team. I love these girls and I love our coaches.”
BYU ends the season with a record of 19-10. The Cougars could return five of six starters in 2025 with Strong, a grad transfer, the only starter out of eligibility. BYU adds a strong recruiting class led by 2025 PrepVolleyball national Player of the Year Suliane Davis, a 6-foot-2 outside hitter from Euless, Texas, who was also a first team All-American selection by MaxPreps.
“What’s so cool about this loss is that, yes, we’re not satisfied but what’s important is our response and our reaction to this,” freshman setter Alex Bower said. “I can guarantee you we’ll be the hardest working team you’ll see next year and this spring.”
