The undefeated BYU women’s volleyball team extended its winning streak to 12 at the George Washington Invitational this past weekend.
The Cougars were unstoppable against their opponents New Hampshire, Princeton and George Washington, taking them all down in quick 3–0 sweeps. This win was also the girls’ fourth tournament win of the preseason.
Head coach Shawn Olmstead said he was really excited about the tournament victory and the team’s overall performance.
The Cougars opened the tournament against New Hampshire on Friday and won without dropping a set.
Junior Jennifer Hamson led the team with 11 kills and five digs, and senior setter Heather Hannemann gave the team 35 assists. Junior Kathryn LeCheminant contributed seven kills and had an impressive hitting average of .875.
Olmstead said he was pleased with how the girls opened the tournament against New Hampshire and only hoped to improve through the weekend.
“It was a great way to start off the George Washington Invitational,” Olmstead said. “We always want to improve and get better. Hopefully, we play even better than we did today, because tomorrow’s another day and another opponent.”
The Cougars took on Princeton Saturday afternoon, crushing them in another 3–0 sweep. The match lasted only an hour, the team’s fastest of the season.
Freshman Ciara Parker led the Cougars with 21 digs and served an ace for the team. Hamson and freshman Alexa Gray led the team with eight and 14 kills respectively.
Olmstead said the girls played a great match against Princeton and it was good to be able to give different girls on the roster playing experience.
Freshman Kimberly Dahl and junior Kimberli Boswell were two of those players who got good playing time against Princeton. Dahl gave the team four digs and had a hitting average of .571. Boswell contributed two kills and held a .667 hitting average.
Saturday evening the Cougars took on host George Washington and wasted no time in beating them with another 3–0 sweep, their ninth in the preseason.
Senior Nicole Warner contributed 14 digs and averaged .722 hitting. Close behind was Gray with 12 digs and .344 hitting. Hannemann also gave the team two digs and contributed 33 assists.
Warner said the tournament went well and the girls were really playing together as a team.
“There’s a tangible feeling of working together,” Warner said. “Going in we were confident. We wanted to keep our record undefeated and pull off wins in all four tournaments.”
At the end of the tournament, Gray was given the tournament MVP award. Hamson and LeCheminant were also given all-tournament honors.
Ranked at No. 16, the BYU women’s volleyball team prepares to open conference play Thursday, Sept. 20, against No. 14, Pepperdine. The match will take place in the Smith Fieldhouse at 7 p.m.
