LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- No. 9 BYU women's volleyball fell 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-20, 28-26) to No. 14 Colorado State in Las Cruces Friday morning.

Senior Jennifer Hamson had 24 kills and a .438 clip to go along with seven blocks to lead the Cougars. Camry Godfrey Willardson contributed 44 assists and 10 digs while Ciara Parker added a team-high 12 digs. Whitney Young helped out on the block, collecting six. Senior Hannah Robison also had double-digit kills with 19 to go along with 11 digs.

"We made too many errors to compete against a good team like Colorado State," BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. "Hats off to them for the win."

Back-to-back kills from the left side by Hamson and Tambre Nobles gave the Cougars (5-2) an early 3-1 lead in the first set. Two kills from Robison continued to give momentum for BYU as it jumped out to a 9-4 advantage. Following an 8-2 run, the Cougars found themselves up 12-5 which forced a Colorado State (7-1) timeout. From there both teams traded points with BYU keeping its momentum, up 17-11. The Rams narrowed the gap to 22-20 following a Cougar error, but Hamson finished off the set for BYU 25-23 with a kill.  

In set two Colorado State took its first lead of the match, 3-2, from a Marlee Reynolds kill. With a pair of consecutive blocks, though, the Cougars went back up 9-7. The action went back-and-forth from there with neither team taking control of the match as the score was tied at 16. With the set knotted up at 22-all, the Rams went on a 3-1 rally to take the second set 25-23. Set two featured 11 ties and five lead changes.

BYU struggled from the service line early in the third set but quickly overcame it to take a 6-3 advantage with help from three Ram attack errors. A trio of kills from Colorado State's Adrianna Culbert helped the Rams to go on a 5-0 run and take a 9-8 lead. Colorado State continued to outscore the Cougars as it took a six-point lead at 18-12. BYU then regrouped to cut the Ram advantage to just two at 21-19, forcing a Colorado State timeout. The late Cougar rally fell short, however, as the Rams took set three 25-20 after four-straight points from Kelsey Snider.

Colorado State looked to be in control early on in the fourth set, taking a quick 4-1 lead out of the gate. BYU was able to cut the lead to just a point at 10-9 after back-to-back kills from Robison. An Amy Boswell service ace followed to give the Cougars their first lead of the set at 11-10. BYU kept a slight lead from there until the Rams' Jasmine Hanna tied things up at 19-19 with a kill. Two consecutive blocks from Hamson and Young quickly put the Cougars back on top 22-19. Colorado State inched its way back in the set, though, forcing extra points and winning the set and match 28-26.

BYU continues action Friday at 7 p.m. MDT when they head to El Paso, Texas, to take on UTEP in BYU's second match of the New Mexico State/UTEP Invitational. A link to a live video feed and stats can be found on the BYU women's volleyball schedule page.

PROVO, Utah – No. 9 BYU women’s volleyball heads back out on the road Friday and Saturday to take part in the UTEP/New Mexico State Invitational.

After falling to No. 5 Washington in five sets at the BYU Invitational, the Cougars (5-1) look to bounce back and defeat their first ranked team of the season in No. 14 Colorado State. BYU will then face off against UTEP and New Mexico State on their respective home courts.

No. 14 Colorado State

• The Cougars will take on No. 14 Colorado State Friday at 11 a.m. MDT on a neutral New Mexico State court.
• BYU is 49-28-1 overall against the Rams, having last won 3-1 in a 2012 invitational match.
• Colorado State is currently 5-1 on the early season, with its only loss coming against No. 4 Wisconsin. The Rams face Denver Tuesday night before heading to the tournament.
• They return five starters and their libero to a team that went 28-2 overall in 2013 and participated in the NCAA tournament.

UTEP

• BYU will next face off against UTEP Friday at 7 p.m. MDT on its home court.
• The Cougars have a perfect 24-0 record against the Miners, with their last win coming during conference play of the 1998 WAC season.
• UTEP is 1-5 so far this season, having defeated Western Illinois last week.
• The Miners return just two starters to their team, which took ninth in Conference USA play.

New Mexico State

• To conclude the UTEP/New Mexico State Invitational, BYU will travel back to the Aggies’ home court Saturday at noon MDT.
• The Cougars hold a 29-5 record against New Mexico State. BYU’s last win against the Aggies was in the first round of the NCAA tournament in 2012.
• New Mexico State is 3-3 to begin the year and returns just two seniors to its squad that participated in the 2013 NCAA tournament.

VIDEO/STATS

BYU’s match against New Mexico State will be broadcast live on AggieVision in the New Mexico area. It will also be streamed live on watchespn.com. The Cougars’ match against UTEP will also be streamed live. Links to video and live stats can be found on the BYU women’s volleyball schedule page.