No. 24 BYU defeated the Iowa State Cyclones in four sets Wednesday night, securing its fourth conference victory of the season.
The Cougars won the match 25-20, 19-25, 26-24, 25-15.
BYU traveled to Ames, Iowa, for the first time in program history to take on the Iowa State Cyclones at the Hilton Coliseum. This was just the third meeting all-time between BYU and Iowa State, with the Cougars improving to 3-0 against the Cyclones.
The first set was a set of runs, with both teams going on runs of three and four points. The Cyclones scored the first three points and then the Cougars scored the next three. That was the trend for the entire set with BYU making the longest run by scoring five straight points after it trailed 17-15 in order to take a 20-17 lead.
The highlight of this set was an excellent rally that was capped off by a Claire Little kill that gave BYU a 22-18 lead.
The Cougars went on to win the set 25-20. Elli Mortenson led all players with four kills in the set while Alex Bower had seven assists and also recorded a perfect 100% hit percentage.
The second set was dominated by Iowa State as they had 17 kills compared to the Cougars’ 10. The Cyclones also recorded five service aces in the set.
The third set was the most exciting of the match. BYU led 23-18 late but the Cyclones fought back and stunningly took a 24-23 lead. The Cougars were able to fight off Iowa State and pull off the set win with a Mortenson kill.
BYU left no doubt in the last set and it cruised to a 25-15 win and secured the match.
Alex Bower led all players with an outstanding 35 assists and Lulu Uluave added 20 digs in the match. Mortenson and Little both recorded 13 kills while Brielle Kemavor continued her defensive prowess with five blocks.
The Cougars will be back at Smith Fieldhouse Saturday as they take on their longtime rivals, the No. 20 Utah Utes.