No. 12 BYU volleyball cruises past Utah in straight sets

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No. 12 BYU rolled past Utah (25-18, 25-16, 25-7) to win the Deseret First Duel matchup, handing Utah its first loss of the season.

Alexa Gray spikes the ball during Saturday's game against LMU in the Smith Field House. (Universe Photo)
Alexa Gray spikes the ball during Saturday’s game against LMU in the Smith Fieldhouse. (Universe Photo)

“I don’t know if (our players) could have played a better match,” BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “I was impressed by their composure.”

BYU (9-2) got off to a fast start by taking a 5-1 lead after three kills from Jennifer Hamson and a service ace by Hannah Robinson. BYU extended its lead with a kill from Amy Boswell to give BYU a 10-5 lead. The Cougars were able to maintain distance from the Utes (10-1) throughout the set. BYU called a timeout at 21-16, and Alexa Gray responded with four kills to give the first set to the Cougars 25-16.

BYU started the second set 2-0 with a kill by Hamson and a service ace by Robinson. BYU continued to keep the pressure on Utah and jumped out to a 15-5 lead after back-to-back kills from Gray and a service ace from Boswell. The Utes responded by going on a 4-0, bringing the score to 15-9 and forcing the Cougars to call a timeout. BYU was able to regroup after the timeout by closing out the set with a 10-7 run that was capped off with a Boswell service ace. The Cougars went on to win the second set 25-16.

BYU started the third set with a 7-0 run, led by two aces from Camry Godfrey Willardson, two kills from Gray and a kill from Hamson. BYU kept its momentum and won the third set easily 25-7 and the match in a straight set sweep at the Smith Fieldhouse in front of a crowd of 3,814 excited fans.

BYU was led by Gray, who had a season-high 17 kills. Hamson added 11 kills, two service aces and six digs. Willardson had a game-high 27 assists; Ciara Parker also had a solid game, with 14 digs.

BYU starts West Coast Conference play at home on Thursday, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m. (MDT) against Gonzaga. The game will be televised on BYUtv and will be available to be streamed online.

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