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BYU players celebrate a point in a Big 12 women's volleyball match against Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, on Friday, October 2, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Athletics

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BYU's Bella Woods celebrates scoring on a penalty kick in a Big 12 women's soccer match against Kansas State at South Field on Friday, October 2, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Athletics

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BYU's Lulu Po'uha dives for a ball in a Big 12 women's volleyball match against Kansas at Lawrence, Kansas, on Friday, October 2, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Athletics

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LAWRENCE, Kan. — Elli Mortensen and Claire Little Chambers combined for 25 kills as No. 18 BYU women’s volleyball swept No. 19 Kansas (27-25, 25-18, 25-21) at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena on Friday night.

The Cougars (11-1, 3-0 Big 12) hit .303 on the night to the Jayhawks’ .149 clip, also out-blocking KU, 11 to seven. Despite being out-aced (6-1) and facing four set points in the first, BYU rallied to take control of the match and never looked back.

Mortensen led the way for the second night in a row, recording 14 kills on a .333 hitting percentage. Little Chambers added 11 of her own, hitting .364. Kate Prior (eight kills) and Brooke Hardy (six kills) contributed to the Cougars’ 43 total kills as well.

Lulu Po’uha finished with a match-high 14 digs and was an assist shy of her first career double-double with a career-high nine assists. Hardy posted a match-high six blocks while Mortensen and Kelli Jo Burgess both sent back five, a career high for Mortensen.

Two kills apiece from Hardy and Chambers gave the Cougars a 10-5 advantage in Set 1. Kansas answered with an eight-point run, including three aces, that spanned a BYU timeout and the technical timeout, putting the Jayhawks ahead 16-13. A Mortensen kill ended the streak, but three more Kansas points forced BYU’s second timeout with the Cougars trailing 19-14.

Kills by Prior, Burgess, Little Chambers and Mortensen kept BYU within striking distance. The Cougars fought off four set points while closing the frame on a 7-1 run, spanning a Kansas timeout, to take the set 27-25.

In similar fashion to the opening set, BYU benefited from six Kansas errors to start the second, forcing a Jayhawk timeout with the Cougars in front, 10-5. The Cougars answered a 3-0 Kansas run with a 5-0 span of their own, taking a 15-8 advantage into the technical timeout.

Trading points out of the break, a line shot by Little Chambers brought up Kansas’ second timeout with BYU leading 18-13. Two kills apiece from Mortensen and Little Chambers, along with two more Jayhawk errors down the stretch, put the Cougars in a commanding 2-0 position with a 25-18 win.

BYU used runs of three, four and five consecutive points to pull away after an early 2-2 tie, holding Kansas to a -.054 hitting percentage in the set.

Tied at two once more, the Cougars broke away with an 8-2 span, including a 4-0 run fueled by three Mortensen kills and two from Burgess, to force a KU timeout at 10-4. Another Mortensen point off the block and a Hardy-Mortensen double block quickly forced the Jayhawks’ second timeout, with BYU leading 12-5.

A dump kill by Kaylie Kofe gave the Cougars a 15-7 lead at the technical timeout. Kills by Little Chambers and Prior put BYU ahead 22-16 before a 4-0 Kansas run cut the advantage to two. Both pins scored again before Little Chambers closed things out with the Cougars’ first ace of the match, 25-21.

BYU visits Houston on Thursday, Oct. 8 next week, with the battle of the Cougars beginning at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+.

Big second half leads BYU women’s soccer to win

BYU women’s soccer (7-2-2, 3-0-1 Big 12) overcame a first-half deficit to defeat Kansas State 2-1 Friday night at South Field.

With a 3-0-1 conference record, the Cougars are now tied for first in the Big 12 with No. 9 Baylor and No. 14 Texas Tech.

BYU dominated possession despite entering halftime trailing 1-0. The Cougars then came alive in the second half scoring twice leading to a win for the first time this season when trailing at the break.

“Super gritty comeback in the second half,” head coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “Kansas State came out and did to us what we like to try to do to our opponents, put a lot of pressure and win balls. They came out strong and we really struggled to keep the ball and I think we were trying to score goals with every pass and it got away from us a little bit. I think in the second half we came out and settled things down and tried to move the ball like we’ve done the last two games and we felt the goals would come if we were patient and kept the ball.”

The win marks BYU’s first three-match conference winning streak since the Cougars’ first season in the Big 12 in 2023.

BYU opened the second half quickly, with Lucy Kesler launching a shot from just outside the 18-yard box in the 47th minute that forced the Wildcat keeper into a diving save.

Afton Perry followed with two shots before heading a free kick from Kesler inches over the keeper’s hands and into the top-left corner in the 53rd minute to knot the score at one.

Kansas State was caught offside in the 60th minute setting up a BYU possession that ended with a Wildcat handball in the box. Woods took the penalty kick for the Cougars a minute later, launching the ball into the back of the net marking her first goal in a BYU jersey and giving the Cougars the lead 2-1 in the 61st minute.

The Wildcats saw an opportunity in the 79th minute with a corner kick but the subsequent shot was off target. The Cougars then took that possession down the field with Mia Goettsche forcing another keeper save at the net.

BYU then recorded back-to-back-to-back corner kicks in the 81st and 82nd minutes keeping the pressure on the Wildcats defense before closing out the game.

The Cougars outshot the Wildcats 21-9, including an 11-3 advantage in shots on goal, marking BYU’s most shots on goal in a match this season. BYU also earned 15 corner kicks to Kansas State’s five.

Kansas State came out with early pressure, getting a shot on goal in the fourth minute of the first half, but the Cougars quickly responded with six corner kicks before the match reached the 15-minute mark.

BYU racked up seven shots with five on frame over the first 20 minutes of play with the ball rarely crossing midfield to the Cougars backfield over the period.

A back and forth battle ensued before Mattyn Summers-Oviatt saw a one-on-one opportunity with the keeper in the 40th minute but was denied, marking the Cougars 13th shot of the half.

Chelsea Peterson made a diving save at the net in the 43rd minute just before the Wildcats capitalized on their first corner kick of the game to take a 1-0 lead over BYU.

The Cougars ended the half with eight corner kicks to Kansas State’s one and leading the Wildcats in shots 15-5. The Wildcats keeper was forced to make seven saves in the first half.

BYU heads out on the road to Morgantown to face off against West Virginia at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium on Thursday, October 8th at 5:00 p.m. MDT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.