Miller helps No. 13 BYU dominate Pacific in three sets

PROVO, Utah – McKenna Miller’s 12 kills helped No. 13 BYU women’s volleyball dominate Pacific in three sets (25-22, 25-11, 25-17) Saturday afternoon at the Smith Fieldhouse.

“I thought our energy was good today,” BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. “I thought we had a really nice balanced offense and a really good defensive effort. Overall, I thought it was one of our most complete volleyball matches this year.”

Miller led the team with 12 kills while Amy Boswell, Lacy Haddock and Whitney Young Howard each contributed seven. Mary Lake added 11 digs and Lyndie Haddock recorded a career-high three aces in the win to go with 34 assists. BYU (16-2, 5-1 West Coast Conference) tallied nine total team blocks to Pacific’s (10-9, 4-3 WCC) four.

The Tigers got on the board early with two kills before an attack error gave BYU its first point of the match and sparked a 6-2 run. Pacific fought back with the next four points to establish an 8-6 lead. Lyndie Haddock capped off a Cougar four-point streak with BYU’s first ace of the day to take back the lead, 10-8. Danelle Parady-Stetler and Howard teamed up for a block followed by a Pacific service error to extend the Cougars’ advantage to four. The Tigers notched the next two points to bring them back within two, down 19-17. BYU rallied to maintain its lead and a Boswell kill brought the Cougars up 23-19. BYU won the set on a Pacific service error, 25-22.

BYU brought energy to the second set as Boswell posted the Cougars’ first three kills. Pacific struggled to keep up with BYU’s pace of the game from there. A strong defensive save from Lake then gave BYU an 8-5 lead, and forced Pacific to take a timeout, before generating a 7-2 run to bring the score to 15-7. A Howard kill later increased the Cougars’ lead to nine at 18-9. A Tiger attack error then gave BYU a double-digit lead at 20-10. BYU finished the set by scoring the next five of six points to win it 25-11.

The Tigers opened the third set 5-0 to force BYU into an immediate timeout. A Boswell kill gave the Cougars their first kill of the set. BYU built on that momentum to rally back and tie the score 6-all on Miller’s ninth kill of the match. A block by Howard and Parady-Stetler extended the Cougars' advantage to five. BYU continued to maintain its advantage as a Lacy Haddock kill brought the Cougars up 17-11. A Howard kill then solidified the Cougars’ 22-14 lead. The Tigers attempted to fight back but BYU won the set on another Howard kill, 25-17.

The Cougars hit the road for next week’s matches against Portland on Thursday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m. PDT and Gonzaga on Saturday, Oct. 15, at 12 p.m. PDT. Both matches will be streamed live on TheW.tv. Links to live stats and a video feed can be found on the BYU women’s volleyball schedule page.