No. 12 BYU extends its winning streak to three with its straight-set win (25-18, 25-22, 25-14) over Idaho State Tuesday night at Reed Gym in Pocatello, Idaho.
“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.”
BYU got off to a fast start and was led by a block and three kills from Jennifer Hamson to put BYU up 4-1. Idaho State fought back to tie the set at 7-7. The two teams traded points until a kill from Amy Boswell gave BYU a 16-13 lead. The Cougars were able to maintain a comfortable lead over the Bengals, and Camry Godfrey Willardson’s service ace won the set for BYU 25-18.
The Bengals started the second set off fast by taking their first lead of the match at 3-2. ISU then went on a 5-1 run to put them up 9-6, but BYU fought back and tied the set at 9-9. ISU went on a mini run to take a 15-11 lead and forced Olmstead to take a timeout. BYU responded by going on a 7-2 run to take a 18-17 lead. BYU was able to hold onto its lead and and won the set 25-22 on a Hamson kill.
BYU was led by strong performances from Whitney Young and Tambre Nobles in the third set. Blocks from Young and Nobles put the Cougars up 4-2, and a kill by Nobles helped propel BYU to a 10-2 lead. BYU and ISU traded points until BYU was able to extend its lead to 10 at 24-14. The Cougars clinched the match at 25-14 with a kill from Young.
Nobles and Hamson led the Cougars with 12 and 11 kills respectively. Ciara Parker had a game-high 23 digs, and Willardson had a team-high 32 assists. Whitney Young also had a solid game with her eight blocks.
BYU returns home to host Utah at the Smith Fieldhouse Friday at 7 p.m. (MDT). This match will be the Cougars’ last non-conference matchup before they start conference play next week. The matchup will be available on BYUtv and will also be available to stream online.