Cinco Sets: No. 24 BYU women’s volleyball overcomes Utes to win on Senior Night
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- BYU’s Suli Davis takes a swing against Utah in a Big 12 women’s volleyball match at the Smith Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2025.
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- BYU players celebrate a 3-2 victory against rival Utah at the Smith Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2025.
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- BYU’s Brielle Kemavor (left) and Alex Bower throw up a block against rival Utah at the Smith Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2025.
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- BYU’s Suli Davis (25) throws up a block against Utah in a Big 12 women’s volleyball match in the Smith Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2025.
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- BYU’s Claire Little Chambers takes a swing against Utah in a Big 12 women’s volleyball match at the Smith Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Nov, 27, 2025.
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- BYU senior setter Macy Marshall
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- BYU senior middle blocker Elena Wallace
Sometimes, statistics lie.
The numbers that really matter told the truth in No. 24 BYU’s 3-2 (25-23, 17-25, 25-23, 15-25, 15-10) victory against Utah in front of 4,592 fans at the Smith Fieldhouse on Wednesday, but almost everything else weighed heavily in the Utes’ favor.
Total points scored (106 to 94). Hitting percentage (.283 to .263). Aces (13 to 4). Blocks (8 to 4). Side out percentage (64.6% to 58.9%). All of those numbers belonged to Utah.
So how did the Cougars end up on top?
“It was just our fight,” BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. “Our team had a lot of fight. Claire (Little Chambers) went back and served some bullets and it just showed how resilient we were. We were not playing well. After the fourth set we just looked at each other and said, ‘This set, this match is ours.’ BK (Brielle Kemavor) rallied the troops and they just believed. So it was the power of belief. We felt like it was our turn to win this fifth set.”
Utah came into the fifth set with all of the momentum after rolling to a 25-15 fourth-set win, holding BYU to a .069 hitting percentage while hitting .346. The Utes took an early 5-2 lead in Set 5 but eventually the Cougars tied the score at 7-all. Tied at 10, BYU suddenly found another gear and started making plays. Little Chambers and Kemavor scored kills for a 12-10 advantage, followed by the rally of the match. The Cougars touched the swing from Utah star Kamryn Gibadlo and libero Lulu Uluave raced into the backcourt to pick up the deflection. She got the ball expertly to setter Alex Bower, who fed Suli Davis for a kill and a 13-10 lead. Davis wiped a shot down the line to get to match point and Chambers completed the epic 5-0 run with a service ace to end the match.
“I think our team does a really good job with ‘next-ball mentality,'” Bower said. “Once something happens we wash it off with a new play. And that allows us to make those big plays: Good blocks, good digs, good touches. I think that allows us to have an open mind and confidence to just do our thing.”
Davis led BYU with 26 kills, giving her the all-time freshman school record with 507. The previous record of 488 was held by All-American Dylann Duncan and stood for 40 years (1985). Kemavor contributed 14 kills (hitting .550) and three block assists and Bower finished with 49 assists.
The victory served as revenge for a 3-2 reverse sweep loss to the Utes in Salt Lake City less that two weeks ago and gives BYU a 79-31 all-time lead in the series.
“We grinding,” Bower said. “We competed until the very end. We didn’t care if Utah had more this or that. What mattered was us. We trusted each other, trusted our skills and came together.”
Gibadlo led Utah (14-14 overall, 6-11 Big 12) with 22 kills and was joined in double figures by Emrie Moeai (11 kills), Levani Key-Powell (11) and Maria-Neena Joki (10).
The Cougars (21-8, 9-8) complete the regular season at No. 23 Colorado on Saturday. The Buffaloes won the first meeting in Provo 3-1 (25-14, 25-23, 23-25, 25-21) in BYU’s Big 12 home opener back on Sept. 25.
The Cougars have won three straight matches.
“I think we’re being consistently a little bit better,” Olmstead said. “We’re playing a little bit cleaner volleyball for the past few matches. Even though the outcomes weren’t there before these matches, we’ve been playing good volleyball and things just didn’t go our way. We wanted to keep being consistently good at practice and focus on the fundamentals. The team has really bought in on going back to the fundamentals.”
Out with a bang: BYU’s senior class is comprised of two transfers — middle blocker Elana Wallace (Tennessee Tech) and setter Macy Marshall (Southern Utah) — and libero/serving specialist Hannah Billeter. Those three players were honored before the start of the match in their last regular-season home appearance.
Wallace, who joined the team in August, has been added into the lineup because of injuries to Mia Lee and Abby Hojyberg. Billeter has contributed 97 aces in her career and Marshall has been a late-set sub for serving and passing while backing up Bower.
“They mean everything,” Bower said. “I love our seniors. I love every single girl. It’s a sentimental night because it’s their last time playing in the Smith Fieldhouse. They have contributed so much and they give everything, every single practice, every single lift, every single day. They’ve given their all, no matter what. They’re such amazing girls, inside, outside and as volleyball players. They’re amazing.”
BYU SENIORS
4 Hannah Billeter 5-11 L McKinney, Texas
Majoring in Exercise Science. … Parents are Mark and Brooke Billeter. … Has played in 92 matches in her BYU career with one start. … Has 97 aces, 90 assists and 421 digs.
21 Macy Marshall 6-0 S Middleton, Idaho
Served a church mission to Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. … Transferred to BYU from Southern Utah in 2023. … Has played in 40 matches in her career with 90 kills, 781 assists and 36 aces.
15 Elena Wallace 6-1 MB Lehi, Utah
Transferred to BYU from Tennessee Tech in 2025. … Prepped at Skyridge High School in Lehi. … Has played in 10 matches with seven starts. … Has contributed 10 kills, two aces, six digs, one solo block and 19 block assists for 20 total blocks.
