The Cougars hit .284 as a team, led by Elli Mortensen and Brooke Hardy, who combined for 22 kills while hitting .500. Claire Little Chambers added nine kills, while Kate Prior contributed six.

Setters Kaylie Kofe and Alex Bower led BYU with 19 assists and eight digs, respectively. Kelli Jo Burgess recorded a match-high nine blocks, her second time reaching that total against the Buffaloes this season.

BYU held Colorado to a .161 hitting percentage and out-blocked the Buffaloes 11-6. The Cougars also benefited from 10 Colorado service errors.

After a dominating win in Set 1, the Cougars had to battle through Set 2 as Colorado fought back. The second set featured nine ties before the technical timeout, with Colorado holding a 15-13 lead. Mortensen sparked a 6-1 BYU run with a pair of kills, giving the Cougars their first lead of the set. Another Mortensen kill and two Hardy kills brought BYU to set point and forced Colorado’s second timeout.

Courtesy BYU Athletics

The Buffaloes fought off two set points and earned one of their own, prompting BYU’s final timeout. The Cougars responded with three straight points, including a Burgess-Blamires block and Blamires’ first kill of the night, to take the set 28-26 and a 2-0 lead.

BYU raced out to a 6-1 lead in the third set behind kills from Mortensen and Prior and four Colorado errors. A Burgess-Mortensen double block made it 11-6, but the Buffs scored three straight to pull within two at 12-10.

The Cougars held a 15-11 advantage at the technical timeout before the teams traded points through 21-19. Colorado then pulled within one at 21-20.

A Little Chambers-Hardy double block capped a 3-0 BYU run and gave the Cougars match point. Following a Colorado timeout, Little Chambers sealed the win with a kill, 25-21.

The Cougars (19-1 overall, 11-0 Big 12) continue their road trip Saturday, Nov. 7, traveling to Ames, Iowa, to face Iowa State at 2 p.m. CT on ESPN+.

Courtesy BYU Athletics

Big third quarter sends women’s basketball to win vs. Portland

After trailing at halftime, BYU women’s basketball flipped the script with a 33-point third quarter en route to a 74-64 win over the Portland Pilots on Thursday night at the Marriott Center.

Similar to their season opener, the Cougars struggled to get going offensively, shooting 3 of 14 from the field and 0-for-8 from beyond the arc in the first quarter.

“It was a challenging game for us. Their style of play is hard to adjust to on a one-day prep. I thought we did a good job adjusting at halftime,” BYU head coach Lee Cummard said. “They shot 16 free throws in the first half, only four in the second half. We had 14 turnovers in the first half and only ended up with 17. Cleaning up both of those things got us going in the second half.”

The Cougars faced their first halftime deficit of the season, trailing 34-28 at the break. BYU responded by outscoring the Pilots 33-10 in the third quarter to take a 17-point advantage into the final 10 minutes. Much of that offense came from four players who finished in double figures. Olivia Hamlin scored 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting, Prasayus Notoa (6 of 9) and Sydney Benally (4 of 7) each chipped in 13 points, and Brinley Cannon contributed 10.

Courtesy BYU Athletics

BYU outrebounded Portland 52-33, with Bolanle Yussuf and Delaney Gibb leading the charge with 10 rebounds apiece. The Cougars also grabbed 22 offensive rebounds, leading to 16 second-chance points. BYU’s stout defense forced 15 Pilot turnovers, scoring 14 points off those takeaways.

Coming out of the halftime break, the Cougars finally found their footing. Kailey Woolston knocked down her first 3-pointer of the game, and on the ensuing defensive possession, Hamlin swiped a steal and converted a layup to restore the BYU lead at 35-34.

The Cougars kept the momentum going with Notoa laying one up and in off a pick-and-roll, followed by a Brinley Cannon 3-pointer. The two buckets pushed the BYU lead to 40-35 and forced a Portland timeout. Notoa added to her stat line with a nifty steal and layup to extend the lead. The Cougars gained their first double-digit lead of the night, 56-44, on the heels of back-to-back 3-pointers from Cannon and Benally.

Over the last three minutes of the third quarter, the Cougars rattled off a 13-0 run, flipping what was a six-point halftime deficit into a 17-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

BYU (2-0) will be back in action on Saturday, taking on Montana at 2 p.m. MST at the Marriott Center. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with play-by-play on BYU Radio.