The Cougars (12-1, 4-0 Big 12) hit .280 as a team while holding Houston to an .093 hitting percentage. BYU also outblocked the Cougars, 12-2, led by Kelli Jo Burgess’ match-high seven blocks and Brooke Hardy’s six, tying a career high.

Claire Little Chambers led the way with her third double-double of the season, recording 13 kills on a .462 hitting percentage and 11 digs. She also contributed four blocks and two of BYU’s six service aces.

Elli Mortensen followed with 10 kills, while Kate Prior and Hardy added seven apiece. Hardy’s three service aces tied for the match high.

Houston got out fast in Set 1 and the Cougars settled in but still trailed 15-11 at the technical timeout. A Mortensen kill sparked a 3-0 run to pull BYU within one, and a second 3-0 spurt tied the set at 21, forcing a Houston timeout. Facing set point, a timely BYU challenge overturned a potential Houston set winner. The Cougars then closed the set on a 3-0 run, capped by a Little Chambers overpass kill, to take the opener 26-24.

Carrying its momentum into the second set, BYU used a 5-0 run during an 8-1 stretch to build a 10-3 lead and force Houston’s first timeout. Kaylie Kofe, Hardy and Prior all contributed during the run.

Aces by Hardy and Little Chambers bookended the technical timeout, with BYU leading 16-8. After the teams traded points, a 4-0 Cougar run featuring two Burgess blocks gave BYU set point. Prior finished the set one point later with a kill from the right side.

BYU hit .458 without an attack error in the frame while holding UH to a .031 hitting percentage. The Cougars also benefited from 15 Houston attack errors through the first two sets.

The Cougars used a 5-0 run in Set 3, capped by a Hardy-Mortensen double block, to take a 15-11 lead into the technical timeout.

Three Hardy kills and the freshman’s third ace of the night set up a Little Chambers overpass kill, but four consecutive Houston points forced a BYU timeout at 21-19.

The Cougars closed the match with four straight points, as Burgess and Callahan teamed up for a double block before a Mortensen kill and a Little Chambers ace sealed the 25-20 set win.

BYU returns home to host West Virginia on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 6:30 p.m. MT on ESPN+.

West Virginia shuts out women’s soccer, 2-0

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – No. 20 women’s soccer (7-3-2, 3-1-1 Big 12) lost a tightly contested match against the West Virginia Mountaineers.

BYU bested the Mountaineers 19-8 in shots but were unable to find the back of the net. The Cougars also forced nine saves from the West Virginia keeper.

The Cougars registered the first shot on goal as Bella Woods’ long-range strike bounced off the cross-bar and goalie before trickling out of play.

The Cougars kept the offensive momentum as Afton Perry drove down the left wing, found an open Mia Goetschee whose shot landed just outside the post.

The Cougars kept the pressure on the Mountaineers with a relentless high press in their half. Quick recovery after a West Virginia turnover led to an Emma Neff cross that found Goetschee whose header was saved comfortably by the keeper.

For the sixth time this season, the Cougars found themselves deadlocked 0-0 at halftime. The Cougars led the Mountaineers in shots, 8-2, with the Cougars also recording four corners to the Mountaineers zero and forcing four three saves from the West Virginia goalie.

The Mountaineers came out of the break firing as they found the first goal of the game in the first three minutes of the second half to go up 1-0.

The Cougars looked to respond with an offensive push of their own as Perry swung in a cross from the right wing but couldn’t find anyone in the box to finish it off.

BYU saw a big chance come in the 70th minute as Emma Hamberlin hit the crossbar and Mia Goetsche’s follow up header was saved.

The offensive pressure continued from the Cougars as a Sophie Sivulich shot forced another save from the keeper two minutes later.

Still looking for the equalizer, Lucy Kesler struck a shot from the top of the box but the West Virginia keeper denied the Cougars with a diving stop once again.

In the 81st minute the Mountaineers slipped a ball through behind the Cougars defense and found their second goal of the night.

BYU goalie Chelsea Petersen stifled the attack initially with a save but a fortuitous deflection off the save saw the ball land at the feet of the Mountaineers, who finished off the attack, sealing the game 2-0.

The Cougars will continue their road swing and face the Cincinnati Bearcats at Gettler Stadium on Monday, October 12th at 5:00 p.m. MDT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.

Men’s cross country finishes third at Nuttycombe Invitational

MADISON, Wis. — The No. 7 BYU Cougars scored 146 points and placed all five scorers in the top 50 to claim third place at the Nuttycombe Invitational on Friday.

It was a record-setting day for head coach Ed Eyestone’s harriers, as 10 of BYU’s 13 runners across two races set personal bests (Dalton Mortensen, Hunter Kitchen, Jefferson McMullin, Land Lambert, Carter Cutting, Malachi Schoenherr, Kyle Steadman, Danny Simmons and Ethan Peterson). It was also a record-breaking performance from sophomore Tayvon Kitchen, who shattered the previous school record on the course by more than 33 seconds.

As a team, the Cougars beat No. 2 Iowa State, a fellow Big 12 Conference opponent who finished 19th. They also outran No. 8 Wake Forest and No. 10 Florida, only losing to No. 1 New Mexico and No. 6 Colorado.

“Very good day at the races for us,” head coach Ed Eyestone said. “I was really impressed with our split from runners 2-5. It was a really nice team effort. We’ve got three weeks to fine-tune some things, work on some fitness, and be in a better position to keep closing the gap.”

T. Kitchen’s fifth-place finish helped secure BYU the podium spot and cement his status among the top runners in the nation. His time of 22:37.3 clocked in at 33 seconds faster than BYU’s previous school record on the course, set by Casey Clinger in 2024 (23:10.4).

Senior James Corrigan (23:02.2) and Noa Jenkins (23:19.0), Mortensen (23:23.8) and H. Kitchen (23:28.2) rounded out the scoring for the Cougars.