No. 11 BYU falls at No. 6 San Diego in three

SAN DIEGO – No. 11 BYU women’s volleyball fell at No. 6 San Diego in three sets (25-20, 25-23, 25-23) Friday night at Jenny Craig Pavilion.

“I thought that was a great volleyball match,” BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. “San Diego played well, and we just couldn’t capitalize on a few of our leads. We can learn some good lessons from this and get better.”

Amy Boswell led the Cougars with a season-high 16 kills while hitting at a .520 clip and adding two service aces. Lyndie Haddock collected 33 assists while Mary Lake chipped in seven digs. Whitney Young Howard added four blocks and Lacy Haddock contributed eight kills.

BYU (14-2, 3-1 West Coast Conference) and San Diego (13-2, 4-0 WCC) traded points to start the first set as a McKenna Miller kill put the Cougars up 5-4. The score remained within a point until consecutive Torero kills gave them an 11-9 edge. A 4-1 San Diego run ensued to extend its lead at 14-10, forcing a BYU timeout. The Cougars rallied from there as a Hannah Robison ace sparked a 4-1 run to bring BYU back within a point, down 17-16. A Howard kill kept the Cougars within a point, down 20-19, but the Toreros closed with a 5-1 run to take the set 25-20.

San Diego took the first three points of the second set, but three Boswell kills helped BYU score the next five to take a 5-3 lead. The score was close from there until a 5-1 Cougar rally, capped off by a Lacy Haddock kill, put them up 13-9. Consecutive kills from Danelle Parady-Stetler then extended the BYU lead to six at 16-10. The Toreros countered with a 13-2 run, however to go back up by five at 23-18. A pair of Howard blocks helped the Cougars get back within a pair, down 23-21, but it wasn’t enough as a San Diego kill ended the close set in the Toreros’ favor, 25-23.

A Lacy Haddock and Boswell block helped BYU take a 5-1 advantage to start the third set. The Cougars led by as many as five before San Diego went on a 4-1 run to come back within a pair, trailing 9-7. A string of Torero attack errors helped extended BYU’s lead to six at 13-7, but a Lisa Kramer kill kept San Diego within three, down 15-12. A block from Lyndie Haddock and Howard kept the Cougars ahead 19-14 before the Toreros scored five of the next six points to come within one at 20-19. BYU then let the lead slip late as San Diego closed out the set and match 25-23 on a kill.

The Cougars return home to the Smith Fieldhouse next Thursday, Oct. 6, facing off against Saint Mary’s at 7 p.m. MDT. Links to live stats and a video feed can be found on the BYU women’s volleyball schedule page.