BYU women’s volleyball saw their first loss in seven matches to Loyola Marymount 3-2.
BYU played LMU on Sept. 29 and defeated them 3-1. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case as the Cougars struggled to finish LMU off early on in the game.
“That was a good volleyball match and both teams really wanted it,” BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. “I loved our fight in the fourth set and thought we played pretty well for most of the match. We’ll get back in the gym and work hard to get better.”
Alexa Gray led the Cougars with a career-tying 27 kills on the night. Ciara Parker also added 27 digs along side Amy Boswells team-high of eight blocks.
The first set began as both teams rallied back and forth until they were tied at 13-13. From there LMU took advantage of the set and went on a 6-2 run pulling ahead 19-15. The Cougars rallied back to make the score 21-22, LMU continued the fight until it was set point at 21-24. LMU won the set off a service error from the Cougars which made the match 1-0 for LMU. Gray led the set with six kills followed by Camry Willardson with four kills and 10 assists.
BYU started the second set with a 7-0 run. From there the score evened out as LMU was able to find some points but staying just five behind the Cougars most the match till it the score was 20-15. LMU came as close to the Cougars as 21-17, but BYU found a way to win the set 25-19 off a Willardson kill.
Set number three began with intensity from both teams as they battled back and forth until the score was 8-8. LMU then went on a 5-1 killing streak which made the game 13-9. From there the Cougars were unable to climb and scored a few points here and there but eventually lost the set 25-16 and left LMU up 2-1.
Set number four was the most exciting of the five sets as LMU took a quick lead that made the score 11-4. BYU then went on a 5-1 run that made the score 12-9. From there BYU went on another major run and outscored LMU 7-0. To add to the momentum Amy Boswell had three blocks that gave the Cougars a stronger lead at 22-16. But despite the comeback LMU was not finished as they responded with their own 7-1 run which tied the game at 23 all. But the Cougars closed the match 25-23 off of a set error from LMU and a kill from Gray.
The final opened up from a pair of kills from Gray which gave the Cougars a strong push.
The game remained close until a brilliantly served ace from LMU made the score 10-8. From there BYU was unable to finish the match and found themselves losing in the final set 15-12 and lost the match 3-2.
The Cougars expect to bounce back from this loss in the next game at the Smith Fieldhouse on Oct. 30 at 5 p.m.
