BYU women’s volleyball defeated UNLV in three quick sets to move on to the third round of the NCAA tournament (25-23, 25-21, 25-12).
“Congrats to UNLV on a great match and a great season,” BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. “It was a good opportunity for us to play them early in the season and then again today. We just played point for point. That first set was a battle. I was super proud of our team for being resiliant. Good things started happening, the crowd gave us some momentum and we started making great plays.”
The Cougars were led by Veronica Jones-Perry who put away 17 kills. In addition, Amy Boswell contributed 14 kills and two blocks while Lyndie Haddock had nine kills. Alohi Robins-Hardy set the team with a match high 46 assists and also picked up 12 digs. Mary Lake led the defensive effort with 23 digs and had two aces.
BYU swept UNLV for the second time this season and for the first time since 2012 BYU swept both of its opponents in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.
UNLV took an early lead in the first set but several kills from both Lacy Haddock and Jones-Perry helped BYU to tie the set up at 16-16. The teams remained close from there but another Jones-Perry kill won the first set for the Cougars 25-23.
In the second BYU and UNLV found themselves tied at 10-10, but strong net play and a couple kills from Whitney Young Howard gave the Cougars the lead. BYU went on to win the set 25-21, assisted by kills from Boswell and Danelle Parady-Stetler.
The Cougars came out aggressive in the third and final set quickly taking a double-digit lead. BYU never let up and won the set 25-12 on a Howard kill.
BYU moves onto the regional semifinals for the fifth straight season which will be held Friday, Dec. 9 at the University of Texas Austin. The Cougars will be playing Texas who came in as a No. 4 seed and finished their regular season 22-4.
The winner of Friday’s game will move onto the regional finals and play the winner of Creighton vs. Michigan.
