SAN FRANCISCO – Senior Jennifer Hamson led No. 11 BYU women's volleyball past San Francisco in a three-set (25-20, 26-24, 25-14) victory Saturday at War Memorial Gym.
"I was very impressed by our ability to bounce back after a tough loss," BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. "The girls played each point today. It was an outstanding team effort."
Hamson led the team with nine kills, nine blocks, three digs and a service ace. Alexa Gray was the only Cougar to collect double-digit kills with 10. Camry Godfrey Willardson contributed nine digs while adding 32 assists. Ciara Parker also added a team-high nine digs while Whitney Young had double-digit blocks with 10.
BYU (19-4, 10-2 West Coast Conference) and San Francisco (12-12, 5-7 WCC) got off to an even start in the first set, tied at five apiece after a Gray kill. The two teams continued to trade points until the Cougars went on a 5-0 run to take a 13-10 advantage and force a timeout from the Dons. BYU continued to maintain its lead from there until San Francisco scored three unanswered points to bring it within one at 17-16. With the score tied at 20-20, the Cougars ended on another 5-0 run to take set one 25-20 from a Parker service ace.
BYU picked things up in the second set where they left off at the end of the first, going up 5-2 early on. The Dons slowly gained momentum from there to tie things up at nine and then again at 12-all. San Francisco took its first timeout of the set after a Hamson service ace capped off a trio of straight points to put the Cougars back up 15-12. The Dons came back to tie the score at 21-21, however, after a kill from San Francisco's Jessica Gaffney. Later, a Gray kill tied the score back at 24 to force extra points and an Amy Boswell service ace finished off the set for BYU, 26-24.
The Cougars took an 11-1 advantage to begin the third set with help from five Young blocks. The two teams exchanged points from there with BYU maintaining its 10-point lead at 16-6. With the score 20-11 in favor of the Cougars, the Dons took their first timeout of the set. BYU proved to be too much for San Francisco as it easily cruised to a 25-14 set three win.
The Cougars return home next Thursday to face off against Saint Mary's at 7 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcast nationally live on BYUtv. Links to live stats and a video feed can be found on the BYU women's volleyball schedule page.
PROVO, Utah – No. 11 BYU women’s volleyball hits the road again this week for follow-up trips against Santa Clara and San Francisco.
The Cougars (18-3, 9-1 West Coast Conference) remain in first place in the conference after defeating Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine at home last week.
Santa Clara
- BYU first faces off against Santa Clara (16-7, 6-4 WCC) Thursday at 7 p.m. PDT at the Leavey Event Center.
- The Cougars won the first matchup of the season 3-0 earlier this year at home.
- BYU holds a 6-2 overall record against the Broncos with the two teams splitting the series on their home courts in each of the past two seasons.
- Santa Clara returns just three starters and its libero from its 2013 squad that ended the season 11-16, 6-12 (9th).
San Francisco
- The Cougars will finish out the week with a trip to San Francisco (11-11, 4-6 WCC) Saturday at 1 p.m. PDT.
- BYU won a four-set match against the Dons earlier this season at home. The match saw sophomore Whitney Young tie a BYU and WCC blocking record, collecting 17 on the night.
- San Francisco has never beaten the Cougars, as BYU holds a perfect 9-0 record against the Dons.
- The team returns four starters from last year’s squad that finished 13-15, 9-9 WCC (T-4th).
VIDEO/STATS
Both matches will be streamed live online, with Saturday’s match being streamed on TheW.tv. Links to live stats and video feeds can be found on the BYU women’s volleyball schedule page.