Fired up: BYU women’s volleyball refining game during summer months
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- BYU’s Claire Little Chambers, left, and Alex Bower celebrate a point during an exhibition match against Weber State on Friday, February 28, 2025.
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- BYU’s Claire Little Chambers takes a swing during an exhibition match against Weber State on Friday, February 28, 2025.
During the summer months, the Smith Fieldhouse stands are usually empty.
Far from the eyes of the roaring crowd and even their own coaching staff, the BYU women’s volleyball team enters the building looking for the fire.
And not just any fire. They are looking for the fire that will carry them through the regular season into the NCAA Tournament and beyond.
The Cougars have qualified for the tournament every year since 2012, but last season were swept in the first round by upstart Loyola-Chicago, their first opening round loss since 2005.
That’s why at 7:30 a.m. most mornings, BYU is battling each other and building momentum.
“When you come back for the report date, it’s time to get loose,” junior Claire Little Chambers said. “You remember why you love the sports. People don’t understand how long the season is because BYU is always in the tournament. Every year when you come back you’re so grateful. This is a program built on gratitude. You get to come to practice. You get to be here.
“It really all starts with summer practice. Every single girl who walks into that gym runs conditioning and lifts weights. We have the most competitive sixes matches, despite the coaches not being there. That’s where successful teams thrives is in the summer. The summer is so critical to the culture of the team. It builds unity and this is where we build that competitive fire.”
Little Chambers has had an eventful summer already, having gotten married to BYU men’s volleyball player Gavin Chambers in June.
It took a while for Claire and Gavin to get to the “meet cute” part of their courtship, even though they grew up about 40 minutes from each other in California (Claire in Temecula, Gavin in Corona) and both attended BYU. After some encouragement from her mother last fall and getting the stamp of approval when he attended a family dinner, the two were inseparable. They even trained together in California after the men’s volleyball season concluded in April.
After a lot of thought, Claire opted for “Claire Little Chambers.”
“The way I see it, I’ve made a name for myself as Claire Little,” she said. “So I wanted to make sure no one takes out the ‘Little’ part. On my jersey it will say ‘Little.’ I also wanted to respect my husband and his last name.”
Little Chambers led the Cougars last season with 427 kills (3.88 per set) while hitting .275 in 28 matches.
“I’m not a big goals person,” Little Chambers said. “I just like to see what each season will bring me. What I’m thinking is I’d just like to be consistent for my team, always showing up with fire and energy. I want to lead by example, do my thing and have fun doing it. I want to be there to hype up my teammates and I want to be present. I don’t need any amazing personal accomplishment to feel like the season is going to be great.”
BYU coach Heather Olmstead knows how important Little Chambers will be to a successful season.
“She’s definitely been developing her offensive toolbox,” Olmstead said. “She’s continuing to develop her back row play. We just want her to be able to hold up passing in the back row and have a six-rotation game. She’ll continue to be a great server and be a weapon out of the back row.”
The Cougars also return sophomore setter Alex Bower (10.01 assists per set), 6-foot-5 junior middle blocker Brielle Kemavor (1.47 blocks per set) and sophomore outside Eli Mortensen (2.71 kills per set). BYU has a strong contingent of defensive specialists/liberos as well, including sophomore Lulu Uluave (3.12 digs per set), senior Hannah Billeter (42 aces) and Washington State transfer Emma Barbero.
A strong recruiting class is led by 6-2 freshman Suli Davis from Euless, Texas. The 2025 PrepVolleyball Player of the Year and Under Armor All-American had a whopping 800 kills her senior season at Colleyville Heritage High School. Davis has been starring for the United State U19 team this summer, recently competing in the 2025 Worlds in Croatia.
“Suli is such a competitor,” Little Chambers said. “That girl just wants to win and will do anything to do that. She’s always in the gym and always getting extra reps. She has very high goals. She’s going to be great and people need to watch out for her because she wants it so bad.
“What really separates the best from the good is that drive. She has such high motivation. Players like that come in and change programs. I’m excited to see what she’ll bring to BYU.”
The Cougars report for team practices at the end of July and open the season with an exhibition match against Idaho State at Ogden High School in Aug. 23. BYU officially opens the 2025 season by hosting the doTERRA Classic with High Point, Farleigh Dickinson and Central Michigan beginning Aug. 29.
“I’m really excited to see this team grow in the aspect of being consistent and being able to fail gracefully,” Little Chambers said. “Last season we had a lot of five-setters and games where we got down early, so I’d love to see this team start strong.
“It’s just a year of opportunity. Everyone is going to get a shot and everyone is going to get a chance to prove themselves. I feel like we have a deep bench and a deep team. I have a good feeling about this team. We’ve always known that something about BYU is it’s greater than just a sport. At the end of of the day if you just sucked at practice, you’re still a daughter of God and its going to be OK. That unites the team. We’re excited with our talent to see how we can fight and compete.”
