The BYU women’s volleyball team defeated the Pacific Tigers in a quick-paced, suspenseful 3-0 game.
“We were really scrappy on defense,” head coach Heather Olmstead said. “We asked the girls to be scrappy defensively because Pacific is a scrappy team. I thought we did a good job with that.”
This is not the first time the teams have played against one another. BYU beat Pacific the first time this season at Pacific in a 3-2 game. BYU won each set during today’s game with the following scores: 25-18, 25-23 and 25-17.
BYU’s starting lineup included Alexa Gray, Amy Boswell, Cosy Burnett, Camry Godfrey Willardson, Lacy Haddock and Sophie Cram with Ciara Parker as libero.
This is the first game freshman Cram has started and her start is a result of Whitney Young Howard’s injury on Thursday night’s game against St. Mary’s. Cram made two kills and four blocks during today’s game.
“It was awesome,” Cram said. “I wasn’t nervous, I just wanted to believe in my abilities and trust how long I’ve been playing and how long I’ve worked for this opportunity.”
BYU made 43 digs, 44 set assists, 45 kills and 11 team blocks. Pacific ended the game with 37 digs, 34 set assists, 35 kills and nine team blocks.
Gray led the team in three categories: kills, attacks and blocks. She ended the night with 20 kills, 41 attacks and five blocks. Gray made 23 points for the Cougars. She found holes on Pacific’s defense, used the net on a few kills and even cracked a ball down on a middle blocker’s head.
“It’s always good to get a kill,” Gray said. “It was a good game. The setting was really good this game, so it made it a lot easier for me.”
The BYU women’s volleyball team will head to Oregon to play against Portland on Thursday, Nov. 12.
