No. 7 BYU sweeps Portland behind team effort

PROVO, Utah ­– No. 7 BYU women’s volleyball swept Portland (25-15, 25-10, 25-14) behind a team effort Thursday night at the Smith Fieldhouse to remain perfect in West Coast Conference play.

"I'm really impressed with how well we passed the ball tonight," BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. "It made it easy for Lyndie (Haddock) to distribute the ball, which she did a great job of. We were really dialed in offensively and defensively. I am really proud of the team's effort tonight." 

Veronica Jones-Perry led the Cougars with 16 kills followed by McKenna Miller with 12. Cosy Burnett had seven kills on a .875 clip to go with seven blocks. Lyndie Haddock earned 36 assists while Mary Lake added 19 digs in the win. 

The Cougars (18-1, 7-0 WCC) started out the first set with a back-and-forth battle with the Pilots (13-6, 4-3 WCC). But, late in the set BYU scored six straight to distance itself from Portland at 19-12. Another five-point rally and a kill from Kennedy Redding sealed the first set win for the Cougars, 25-15.

BYU started out the second set strong with a block from Burnett and Haddock, helping the Cougars go up 6-2, forcing a Portland timeout. BYU then went on an 11-1 run, fueled by Pilot errors, making the score 19-7. BYU scored six of the last eight points, winning the set 25-10 on a Burnett service ace.

The Cougars kept the momentum going in the third set, starting with a service ace from Lake. Back-to-back kills from Jones-Perry extended the lead to four, 10-6. A 6-1 rally, helped by four Portland errors, put BYU up by double digits, 19-9. With a kill from Sara Hamson, the Cougars secured the win against the Pilots.

BYU returns to the Smith Fieldhouse Saturday, Oct. 14, at 1 p.m. MDT, for its next match against Gonzaga. The match will be streamed live on TheW.tv with live stats found on the BYU women's volleyball schedule page.