No. 18 BYU outlasts Northern Colorado in five sets at Nike Invitational
Courtesy BYU Athletics
BYU freshman Suli Davis celebrates a point during a women's college volleyball match against Northern Colorado at the Smith Fieldhouse on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2025.PROVO, Utah — No. 18 BYU women’s volleyball defeated Northern Colorado in five sets (25-16, 22-25, 25-17, 23-25, 15-8) at the Smith Fieldhouse on Thursday evening to begin the BYU Nike Invitational.
The Cougars’ (4-0, 0-0 Big 12) fourth straight win to start the season was their closest match of the year, their first five-set match of the 2025 campaign.
Highlighted by an ace from Emma Barbero and two kills by Alex Bower, BYU went on a 6-1 run to open the fifth set. After the Bears went on a 3-1 run, the Cougars regained momentum after a kill by Claire Little Chambers ignited a 4-2 run, making the score 11-6. Northern Colorado was able to tighten the gap with a couple of scores, but a 4-0 run by BYU, capped off by a double block from Mia Lee and Suli Davis, secured the 15-8 win for the Cougars in the final set.
BYU out-hit the Bears, .346 to .237 in the contest. As part of the Cougars’ 65 kills, Little Chambers led both teams with 20 kills while Davis added 17.
BYU went on a 10-3 in the first set, highlighted by a pair of kills by Davis, Little Chambers and Sophia Callahan, to take control. With set point on the line, an assist from Barbero to Bower sealed the first set for the Cougars, 25-16.
Like the first set, BYU started off on a positive note after taking an 8-4 lead in Set 2 with Little Chambers recording four kills. Despite this, the Bears rallied back, scoring the next five points to take a 9-8 advantage. With Northern Colorado leading 22-15, BYU was able to rally back to make the score 24-22, but eventually fell after a kill from the Bears concluded the second set.
The Cougars opened the third set with a couple of three-point runs to make the score 6-1, scoring their fifth and sixth points from double blocks courtesy of Brielle Kemavor and Little Chambers followed by Kemavor and Bower.
With BYU in front 19-13, the two teams continually went back and forth until the Cougars pulled away to win the set 25-22 on an attacking error by Northern Colorado.
Northern Colorado rebounded by scoring the first two points of the fourth set, but were unable to increase its lead after a kill by Bower got BYU on the board. Neither team was able to grow a significant lead as they went back-and-forth until the Cougars gained an 8-7 lead.
The Bears took control of the set by going on a 4-0 run. Despite consistent kills and a 3-0 run, BYU was unable to close out the game in a tight 25-23 set in favor of Northern Colorado. The set featured nine ties and six lead changes, leading to the fifth and deciding set.
