Burnett and No. 10 BYU cruise past Nevada in three

HONOLULU – Senior middle blocker Cosy Burnett and No. 10 BYU women’s volleyball cruised past Nevada in straight sets (25-18, 25-22, 25-18) Friday night at the Stan Sheriff Center to continue play in the Outrigger Resorts Volleyball Challenge.

“I like how focused we came out from the very beginning of the match,” BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. “Cosy did a great job of being decisive up high and had a great offensive match. We passed well and can build on that for tomorrow.”

Burnett had a season-high 14 kills and a match-high five blocks. Veronica Jones-Perry also had 14 kills, and Mary Lake contributed 10 digs. Lyndie Haddock and Alohi Robins-Hardy set the team with 18 and 20 assists, respectively, while McKenna Miller added 11 kills in the win.

Nevada (2-6) got off to a quick 5-1 lead against BYU (8-0) in the first set. A block from Burnett and Danelle Stetler evened the set at 8-all. The Cougars were then fueled by a 9-2 run, capped off by a Miller kill, to give them a 17-11 lead. Jones-Perry scored the last three points for BYU, as the Cougars took the set 25-18.

The two teams opened up the second set trading blows, with a block from Miller and Kennedy Redding tying things at six apiece. A Burnett kill gave BYU a 13-12 edge, but the Wolf Pack scored five of the next seven points to go up 17-15. Nevada continued to play well, extending its lead to four at 21-17 after a kill. It was all Cougars from there, however, as BYU ended the set on an 8-1 run to win the set 25-22.

A kill from Miller tied the score at 6-6 to start the third set, but an ace from the Wolf Pack gave it a 10-7 lead. The Cougars battled back from behind, going on a 5-0 run, which included consecutive aces from Jones-Perry, to take a 15-13 advantage. Another 6-1 BYU run extended the lead to six at 21-15, and a Burnett kill closed out the set and match 25-18.

The Cougars conclude play in the Outrigger Resorts Volleyball Challenge Saturday, Sept. 9, at 3 p.m. HST, facing Baylor. A link to live stats for the match can be found on the BYU women’s volleyball schedule page.