Amy Boswell spikes the ball against Princeton. Boswell and the Cougars swept the Tigers to advance in the NCAA tournament. (Gianluca Cuestas)
The BYU women's volleyball put up 14 team blocks to defeat Princeton in the first round of the NCAA tournament in three straight sets (25-22, 25-15, 25-23).
“I'm really happy with that match,' BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. 'Congratulations to Princeton on a great season. I'm happy with the way our team put the match together. I thought Whitney changed the momentum with a couple of blocks right in a row. I thought she intimidated them a little bit and changed the second set.'
The Cougars were led by senior Whitney Young Howard who had nine kills on a .471 clip and seven blocks. Fellow senior middle blocker Amy Boswell also put up seven blocks. Veronica Jones-Perry also put away nine kills while Boswell and Lacy Haddock both had four. Lyndie Haddock set the team with 24 assists. Mary Lake picked up 16 digs and had three aces.
BYU moves on to the second round of the tournament and will take on UNLV Saturday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. UNLV defeated Utah in the first round to play BYU for the second time this season. The Cougars beat the Rebels in three sets and lead the overall series history 28-6.
If BYU wins the game against UNLV it will play the winner of SMU vs Texas. The time and place is still to be announced.