Volleyball splits road contests with Pacific and St. Mary’s

93

The BYU women’s volleyball team dropped its first conference game after splitting a west coast road trip, defeating Pacific and losing to St. Mary’s. The Cougars now sit at 17–4 overall and 10–1 in conference play.

BYU overcame Pacific in a four-set match Oct. 24 after jumping out to an early set lead (25–20, 25–22, 22–25, 25–23).

Senior Kathryn LeCheminant led BYU to this victory with 11 kills on 27 attempts, eight total blocks and only one hitting error. Junior Tambre Haddock led the team on defense with 23 digs and also matched LeCheminant with 11 kills. Alexa Gray was consistent on the outside with 14 kills and three blocks.

Kathryn LeCheminant goes up for a spike during a match against Montana Sate. Photo by Bella Torgerson, BYU Photo
Kathryn LeCheminant goes up for a spike during a match against Montana State. (Photo by Bella Torgerson/ BYU Photo)

“We expected a battle from Pacific, and we got just that,” said head coach Shawn Olmstead. “They played a lot better to end the second set, and that continued into sets three and four. We stayed composed and on task to the end.”

The BYU women’s volleyball team said goodbye to its WCC undefeated streak in its second match of the week, falling in a long five-set loss to Saint Mary’s (25–23, 25–23, 12–25, 22–25, 11–15).

“Tough loss to Saint Mary’s tonight,” Olmstead said. “Hats off to them for making adjustments and pushing us. We can learn from this and get better.”

Haddock led BYU in kills, with 16 on 58 attempts, and added nine digs. Gray racked up 14 kills, while senior Jessica Jardine had 10. On defense, LeCheminant and freshman Whitney Young led with six blocks each, and sophomore libero Ciara Parker had 19 digs.

Despite the setback, the Cougars have defeated every WCC opponent at least once, including San Diego, who was once No. 2 in the nation, and are expected to remain ranked throughout the season after their strong start to the year. The Cougars also defeated previously undefeated Utah in October, a major win for the program.

The Cougars will enjoy home court advantage this week as they take on Loyola Marymount on Oct. 31 at 7 p.m., and Pepperdine on Nov. 2 at 1 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email