No. 12 BYU downs Idaho State in straight sets

POCATELLO, Idaho -- Senior Tambre Nobles led No. 12 BYU women's volleyball past Idaho State in straight sets (25-18, 25-22, 25-14) Tuesday night at Reed Gym. 

"It was a nice match for us," BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. "To come up here and win in three sets is a credit to the team's preparation and fight. I was pleased with a lot of things tonight."

Nobles had 12 kills and a .242 attack percentage to go along with seven digs to lead the Cougars. Ciara Parker led the team in digs with 23 while Camry Godfrey Willardson had 32 assists to lead in that category. Whitney Young contributed a team-high eight blocks while Jennifer Hamson added 11 kills and five blocks.

BYU (8-2) got the first point of the match against Idaho State (3-7) with a combined block from Hamson and Amy Boswell. Hamson had the first three kills for the Cougars to give BYU a 4-1 advantage. The Bengals stayed in the match, though, tying things up at 7 apiece after a block. The two teams traded points from there until a Boswell kill gave the Cougars a 16-13 edge. BYU eventually took a four-point lead after Young found the right corner with a kill to make the score 21-17. A Willardson service ace ended the first set for the Cougars 25-18.

The Bengals took their first lead of the match at 3-2 after a block to begin the second set. Idaho State went on a 5-1 run to then take a 9-6 advantage in the first half of set two. BYU countered with a trio of straight points to tie the score at 9-9. Later the Bengals continued to play strong with a block that gave them a 15-11 lead and forced an Olmstead timeout. Following the break, the Cougars went on a 7-2 run to earn an 18-17 advantage. With the score tied at 19, BYU went on a 4-0 rally to go up 23-19, and a Hamson kill ended the set 25-22 in favor of BYU.  

A Young and Nobles block put the Cougars ahead 4-2 early in the third set. A kill by Nobles then helped BYU to extend its run to jump ahead by eight at 10-2. Alexa Gray increased the Cougars' lead to 14-6 after a kill following a lengthy rally. The two sides exchange points from there until BYU took a 10-point advantage at 24-14 to bring up set point and a Young kill ended the match 25-14.

The Cougars return to the Smith Fieldhouse Friday at 7 p.m. MDT to host Utah in the Deseret First Duel. The match against the Utes is the final nonconference matchup before league play begins next week. Links to live stats and a video stream can be found on the BYU women's volleyball schedule page. The match will be broadcast live on BYUtv and BYU Radio.