PROVO, Utah – No. 12 BYU women's volleyball totaled a season-high 11 aces in its sweep of Loyola Marymount (25-17, 27-25, 25-23) on Wednesday night in the Smith Fieldhouse.

After recording a career high of four aces to help BYU win the first match of the two-match series against the Lions, junior setter Tayler Hifo matched the previous night's performance with another four aces. Sophomore setter Whitney Bower also contributed to the Cougars' barrage from the service line with a season-high three aces while freshman outside hitter Leilani Dodson added a pair of her own aces.

"I'm really proud of the team, especially in that third set being down 17-20 and having our backs against the wall," said BYU head coach Heather Olmstead. "Tayler Tausinga Hifo went back and served some great serves to get some scoring going for us. It feels good knowing that we can be resilient and I'm proud of their fight tonight."

Senior outside hitter Taylen Ballard-Nixon finished with a team-high of 16 kills on a .424 clip, five digs and an ace. Sophomore opposite Kate Grimmer contributed 10 kills on a .562 hitting percentage while adding two digs and two blocks. Senior middle blocker Kennedy Eschenberg hit .500 on the night while tallying nine kills. Freshman libero Madi Allen recorded double-digit digs for the sixth time this season, ending the match with a team-high 13.

Final Box Score

SET ONE
BYU (7-0, 6-0 WCC) went on an early 3-0 run to open the first set with kills from freshman outside hitter Erin Livingston, Ballard-Nixon and Eschenberg. LMU (3-5, 3-5 WCC) struggled to keep up as Hifo dropped three-straight aces to help the Cougars take an 18-8 advantage. The Lions responded with a 6-2 run but couldn't overcome the deficit as kills by Ballard-Nixon and Grimmer ended the set, 25-17.

SET TWO
LMU began the second set with an early lead of 7-4. A pair of BYU blocks tied the game at 12-12 with neither team gaining much separation for the remainder of the set. With the score tied at 25-all, Bower clinched the set for BYU with back-to-back aces, 27-25.  

SET THREE
Ballard-Nixon and Grimmer each had a pair of kills as the two teams battled to a 12-12 tie to start the third game. The Lions capitalized on a couple of Cougar errors to pull ahead 22-18. Two kills by Ballard-Nixon and an ace from Hifo fueled a 6-0 BYU run to make the score 24-22. Grimmer completed the comeback with a kill to clinch the sweep, 25-23.

The Cougars will next travel to Malibu, California to take on Pepperdine in a two-match series on Feb. 23-24. Both matches are set for 7 p.m. PST at Firestone Fieldhouse and will be broadcast on the WCC Network.

PROVO, Utah – No. 12 BYU women’s volleyball will host Loyola Marymount in a two-match series at the Smith Fieldhouse Feb. 16-17.

The match on Tuesday, Feb. 16, is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. MST and will be broadcast on BYUtv and the BYUtv App. The second match on Wednesday, Feb. 17, will be at 7 p.m. and streamed on BYUtv.org and the BYUtv App.

BYU Match Notes

No. 12 BYU Cougars (5-0, 4-0 WCC)

• BYU remained at No. 12 in this week’s AVCA national poll
• The Cougars defeated Gonzaga in back-to-back matches last week to moved to 5-0 on the season and 4-0 in league play
• On Monday, true freshman libero Madi Allen was named WCC Defensive Player of the Week, the second time in three weeks she has received the award. Allen averaged 5.00 digs per set (55 total) in BYU’s last three wins while helping the Cougars hold opponents to a combined .180 hitting percentage.
• BYU ranks No. 4 in the NCAA Division I with an average of 14.12 assists per set
• The Cougars are currently hitting an average of .309 to rank 11th in the NCAA and are 12th in kills per set with 14.65.
• Sophomore setter Whitney Bower currently ranks 25th in the nation with an average of 11.18 assists per set
• Senior outside hitter Taylen Ballard-Nixon is 34th in points per set (4.97) and 49th in kills per set (4.18)

Series Information

• BYU is 18-2 all-time against Loyola Marymount, including 10-0 in Provo
• The Cougars won both matchups last season, including a five-set match at the Smith Fieldhouse

Loyola Marymount Lions (3-3, 3-3 WCC)

• LMU swept its two-match series against Portland last week to improve to .500 on the season
• The Lions are led by All-WCC preseason honorees outside hitter Rose Booth and middle blocker Emmelyn Walters
• LMU is second in the WCC with an average of 1.65 aces per set
• Outside hitter Kari Geissberger ranks sixth in the conference in kills per set with 3.77 and eighth in the league with an average of 4.13 points per set

Broadcast Information – Feb. 16

• Time: 7 p.m. MST
• Television: BYUtv
• Live Stream: BYUtv.org/BYUtv App
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Broadcast Information – Feb. 17

• Time: 7 p.m.
• Live Stream: BYUtv.org/BYUtv App
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast