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PROVO, Utah -- The BYU women’s volleyball team kept up its momentum with a 3-0 sweep against Weber State (25-14, 25-21, 28-26) Tuesday night at the Smith Fieldhouse.

The Cougars (2-2), who hit .230 for the match, and the Wildcats (0-4) battled it out in the second and third sets, with the score tied 10 times in each.

“For a team like us, and at this time of season, that’s okay for us to go through,” first-season head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “We stayed composed and came back up and that shows a lot of maturity and composure under pressure.”

The victory came against former BYU men's volleyball coach Tom Peterson, now coaching Weber State.

“I look up to Tom [Peterson], I respect him,” Olmstead said. “He taught me a lot as a player so it’s an honor to go and compete and put our teams on the floor.”

Sophomore opposite hitter Jennifer Hamson led BYU with 11 kills, seven of which came in the third set. Junior middle blocker Nicole Warner had eight kills for the Cougars and a .429 hitting percentage. Senior setter Heather Hannemann recorded 33 assists while junior libero Kendalyn Hartsock tallied 10 digs.

BYU took control of the first set early and never looked back. After a 3-3 tie, BYU led the entire way before taking the set 25-14.

BYU recorded a .226 hitting percentage in the first set, compared to the Wildcats’ .083 clip. Freshman outside hitter Katie Vaughn led the Cougars with a .500 hitting percentage in the first game. Vaughn, along with sophomore outside hitter Jessica Jardine and Hamson, totaled a set-high three kills.

The second set proved to be a closer battle, as both teams fought back and forth. Breaking away from a tie score of 18-18, the Cougars took a 24-21 lead before senior outside hitter Christie Carpenter closed out the set with a kill.

In a third-set thriller, the Cougars took off on a 6-0 run to bring the score to 17-11.  Not to be outdone, the Wildcats answered with their own 5-0 run before Hamson scored on a kill. Each team failed to convert on a set point but a tip and kill by Carpenter put the Cougars up 27-26. BYU took the set and match after a hitting error by Weber State.

The Cougars kick off the Kansas State Invitational against Idaho Friday at 10 a.m. CT. BYU also faces Georgia Southern on Friday at 5 p.m. before closing out the tournament with a match against Kansas State Saturday at 1 p.m. 

Game Notes - Varney's Invitational at Kansas State

PROVO, Utah—After recording its first victory of the season Saturday, the BYU women’s volleyball team gears up to take on four more teams starting with Weber State at home Tuesday. On Friday and Saturday the Cougars will participate in the Kansas State Invitational against Idaho, Georgia Southern and host Kansas State.

"We are always excited to play against in-state competition," head coach Shawn Olmstead said. "Tuesday and this coming weekend in Kansas will be another opportunity for us to see our team progress and make changes.  This entire week is filled with good competition that will help us move our group forward.  Going on the road will be a valuable experience for the kids on our team, both young and old."

The Cougars (1-2) begin the week with their fourth-straight home match against the Wildcats (0-3) at 7 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse. The match is the 60th face-off between in the teams, with BYU holding a 59-0 record. Both teams boast new head coaches, with former BYU men’s volleyball head coach Tom Peterson leading the Wildcats and former BYU men’s volleyball player Olmstead leading the Cougars. The match will be televised on BYUtv.

Over the weekend, BYU launched its season with a 3-0 loss to No. 8 Illinois, a 3-1 victory against UC Santa Barbara and a 3-0 loss to WCC foe Saint Mary’s. Despite the losses, opposite hitter Jennifer Hamson, setter Heather Hannemann and outside hitter Jessica Jardine recorded career highs in all three matches, including 20 kills by Hamson against Saint Mary’s.

The Wildcats opened their season with a 3-0 loss to in-state opponent Utah, a 3-0 loss to Northwestern and a 3-2 loss to Cal State Northridge. Briana Wilms leads the Wildcats with 39 kills and contributed nine digs and seven blocks. She’s joined by Michele Arave with 22 digs and Caitlin Penrod with 12 blocks, 16 digs and eight kills.

Friday, the Cougars take on Idaho in the first match of the Kansas State Invitational at 10 a.m. CT. Idaho shut down Butler 3-2 in its first match of the season, but couldn’t hold on against Eastern Michigan, losing 3-0. After falling behind one set to Notre Dame, Idaho snuck in a second-set victory but wasn’t able to shut down the Irish in the 3-1 defeat.

Next on the tournament schedule at 5 p.m. Friday, the Cougars face Georgia Southern, which has the best record of the tournament teams so far. The Eagles participated in the Spring Hill Suites Invitational last weekend, posting 3-0 wins against Jacksonville and Montana State and losing 3-2 to Stephen F. Austin and South Dakota State.

The Cougars close the tournament facing host Kansas State Saturday at 1 p.m. Kansas State went 1-2 in last weekend’s Georgia Tech Courtyard Classic, falling to Georgia Tech and Louisville and sweeping Tennessee Tech.

Links to live stats are available here.