Cougars keep win streak alive with sweep of Portland

PORTLAND, Ore. – Senior Kathryn LeCheminant led the BYU women’s volleyball team to a sweep (25-16, 25-16, 25-18) of Portland on Thursday to remain undefeated in West Coast Conference play.

“I’m really happy for the kids and their play tonight,” BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “We competed hard and stayed on point. Kat (LeCheminant) played a great match.”

LeCheminant had nine kills on 11 attempts with zero errors to hit at an impressive .818 clip, to go along with six blocks in the victory. Sophomore Camry Godfrey added 32 assists, while sophomore libero Ciara Parker contributed 14 digs. Junior Tambre Haddock contributed 10 kills and seven digs in the win.

LeCheminant got things started for the Cougars (15-3, 8-0 WCC), putting the first points of the set on the board with a kill. The Pilots (0-17, 0-8 WCC) kept the score close in the early going, though, at 5-4. BYU battled right back on a 5-1 run to take a 10-5 lead, forcing a Portland timeout. A Godfrey service ace at 18-10 continued a 6-2 run by the Cougars. Amy Boswell contributed a service ace of her own to cap off the first set with a 25-16 win. BYU completed the set without a single attack error.

The Cougars got off to a strong start in the second set, pulling ahead with a 6-2 advantage. BYU maintained its attack, with multiple Cougars getting kills in the first half of the second set to make the score 15-7. The Pilots then got three-straight points from consecutive BYU errors to make the score 18-11. Portland had trouble containing the Cougars as BYU took a two-set lead at the break with a 25-16 win.

The Pilots started off much stronger in the third set, taking a 5-4 lead over the Cougars. BYU quickly counterattacked, tying the set 10-10 from two-straight Alexa Gray kills. The score remained close as neither team took more than a two-point lead until an 11-1 run put the Cougars up 23-15. Haddock closed out the set and match with a kill, 25-18.  

BYU continues conference play on the road by traveling to Spokane on Saturday to take on Gonzaga at noon PDT. Links to live stats can be found on the BYU women’s volleyball page.