ST. LOUIS – A balanced attack helped No. 12 BYU women's volleyball past Arkansas-Pine Bluff in three sets (25-6, 25-10, 25-9) to win the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic, hosted by Saint Louis.

"I liked our energy today," BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. "I'm glad some of the younger kids had the opportunity to get better. That experience will serve us well as the season goes on."

Newcomer Lacy Haddock led the Cougars with 10 kills on a .556 clip to go along with a pair of digs. Danelle Parady led the way in digs with 11 while Camry Godfrey Willardson had a team-high 31 assists. On the block, Willardson and Madeline Graham contributed a team-high two. Additionally, Amy Boswell hit .889, connecting on 8 of 9 kills to go along with five digs. Cosy Burnett helped on offense with seven kills and Parady connected with six of her own, hitting a .667 clip.

As a team, the Cougars hit a .449 clip, which is good for second-best in Chaifetz Arena history. 

A pair of Boswell kills helped propel BYU (5-1) to an early 6-1 advantage in the first set. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-6) then called its second timeout down by double-digits, 12-2, following an Alexa Gray ace. The Golden Lions got a couple of points on the board after a kill and Cougar attack error made the score 17-4. A pair of kills from Veronica Jones helped increase her team's lead to 22-5 before a Burnett kill ended the set 25-6. 

Haddock got her first kill as a Cougar in the second set as BYU went up 4-1 early on. Arkansas-Pine Bluff took a timeout following a 6-0 Cougar run before scoring the next two points to make it 10-4, BYU. The Golden Lions then went on a 4-1 run to cut into the lead, down 15-8. The Cougars scored the next six points, paced by a pair of kills from Parady, to increase their advantage to 21-8. BYU took the set 25-10 on a Ciara Parker kill.

A kill from Sophie Cram helped the Cougars take a 4-1 edge to start the third set. A trio of consecutive kills from Haddock followed to increase BYU's lead to nine at 12-3. The two teams traded points from there with a couple of Parady kills helping the Cougars maintain a 22-9 advantage. BYU closed out the set and match 25-9 on a Parady service ace.

Following the match, Parker, Willardson and Gray were named to the all-tournament team. Additionally, Gray was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.   

The Cougars return home to the Smith Fieldhouse Wednesday as they host Idaho State (4-2) at 7 p.m. MDT. The match will be broadcast live on BYUtv. Links to live stats and a video feed can be found on the BYU women's volleyball schedule page. 

PROVO, Utah – No. 12 BYU women’s volleyball hits the road again this week for its second-consecutive tournament, the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic, hosted at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis.

The Cougars (2-1) will first take on host Saint Louis on Friday, followed by No. 24 Purdue and Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday.

Saint Louis

• BYU opens the tournament with the nightcap match against host Saint Louis Friday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m. CDT.
• The Cougars won the only other matchup between the two schools 3-1 back in 2003.
• The Billikens are 1-2 on the young season, winning a four-set decision against Southeast Missouri State and falling to the University of Missouri-Kansas City and Arkansas State.
• To gain some perspective, Saint Louis finished the 2014 season 21-10, 9-5 (3rd) A10.
• The Billikens return all six starters and their libero from last season.

No. 24 Purdue

• BYU next plays B1G opponent Purdue Saturday, Sept. 5, at noon CDT.
• The Cougars are 3-1 all-time against the Boilermakers, having won the last decision 3-1 in 2001.
• Purdue is a perfect 3-0 to start the 2015 season, picking up wins last week against VCU, Austin Peay and Ohio.
• The Boilermakers went 22-10, 12-8 (5th) last year, just missing an NCAA tournament at-large bid.
• Purdue returns four starters and its libero to this season’s squad.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff

• To conclude play in the invitational, BYU plays Arkansas-Pine Bluff for the second neutral-site matchup of the day. The match begins Saturday, Sept. 5, at 4:30 CDT.
• The two squads have never played each other before in their history.
• The Golden Lions have gotten off to a rough start in 2015, holding an 0-3 record after losses last week to Mississippi State, Southern Utah and the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
• In 2014, Arkansas-Pine Bluff finished 12-21, 6-2 (2nd in West) SWAC.
• The Golden Lions lost four starters from last year, but return 10 letterwinners to this season.

VIDEO/STATS

Friday’s match will be streamed live online by Saint Louis, while Purdue will provide streaming audio for its match against BYU on Saturday. Live stats will be available for all three matches. Links to live stats and the video/audio feeds can be found on the BYU women’s volleyball schedule page.