By Angela Wallace
In an hour and 25 minute match, the BYU women?s volleyball team easily handled Weber State Tuesday night in three straight games, 30-15, 30-17, 30-16. With the help of their middle blockers, the Cougars couldn?t have made it look easier.
?I am very pleased with how much we?re setting our middles,? BYU head coach Karen Lamb said. ?I think we?re setting them a little bit more, and Lauren [Richards] was making some good choices.?
Preseason All-Mountain West Conference selection Lindsy Hartsock slammed 10 kills in the middle while hitting a season-high .769 and added two aces. She is also currently No. 1 in the nation in blocks per game with 1.81 despite only tallying two blocks Tuesday night.
?I think a lot of [what] the middles did tonight is owed to Lauren,? Hartsock said. ?She set us at appropriate times when we had holes. It was nice that we made Weber State honor us in the middle because it opened things up and gave the outsides room to swing.?
Junior middle blocker Lexi Brown posted 11 kills, tied her season-high hitting percentage of .667, and led the team with three blocks. Overall, the Cougars hit an impressive .489 for the night, their highest of the season. Not only did BYU produce high numbers, their spirits were also high throughout the match.
?It was a lot of fun to have our spirits up again after a good win,? Brown said. ?I think we played really well together. Since the beginning of our trip away last weekend, we have come together and had confidence winning in three games. I?m glad we did it again tonight.?
Dropping their first instate rival of the season, the Cougars gained more confidence while sweeping their third straight opponent. In front of 1,120 fans, BYU also took advantage of the home crowd.
?Winning in three games tonight is huge for us, especially at home,? BYU head coach Karen Lamb said. ?We had a chance to show our fans that we can win and reward them for coming out. We did a lot of good things, and the crowd was really good tonight.?
Freshman Erica Lott also dominated on the outside, coming away with 15 kills while hitting an impressive .357 and posting two blocks.
Chelsea Goodman also sparked the Cougars? offense, coming off the bench late in the second game. Goodman finished with four kills, without a single error, along with three digs and an ace. Richards also totaled 41 assists, eight digs, four aces and four kills.
Despite a few low points, the Cougars were able to keep their momentum high and take care of business on their home court from the beginning, something they have worked on this season.
?We?re taking care of every ball now, and we let the match take care of itself,? Lamb said. ?We came out loose, but intense and aggressive, and I think that?s when we play our best.?
