STOCKTON, Calif. – No. 9 BYU women’s volleyball defeated Pacific in straight sets (25-19, 25-17, 26-24) in West Coast Conference play on Thursday.

The Cougars (13-2, 4-0 WCC) have now won seven straight matches and are 6-0 on the road so far this year.

BYU at Pacific Box

Senior McKenna Miller notched 12 kills with just one error as the Cougars hit .320. BYU had just six errors on the night as a team, tied for sixth fewest in a match in rally era program history.

Sophomore Heather Gneiting had six kills on 11 swings with a team-high seven blocks. Senior Mary Lake added 13 digs while Madelyn Robinson added six kills and 10 digs.

Set 1

BYU won the first set 25-19, getting 14 points off Pacific service and attack errors. The Cougars hit .385 in the set with 10 kills and no errors. BYU went on a 4-1 run to take a 13-9 lead and went ahead by as many as five at 17-12 after a Gneiting kill. The Tigers cut the lead to two at 21-19, but BYU scored four straight behind freshman Grace Wee’s serve to end the set.

Set 2

A 9-1 run turned a tied game into a 13-5 BYU margin to essentially put the set away early. Miller had six kills in the set, including the first and the last points for BYU as the Cougars won, 25-16. BYU scored 17 of its 25 points on kills in set two.

Set 3

Pacific went ahead 9-6 and maintained the lead at 14-10. A Gneiting kill and a block by Gneiting and Taylen Ballard-Nixon brought BYU within one at 14-13, but only at 18-18 on a Miller kill did the Cougars tie the match. BYU finally took the lead at 22-21 on a Lion attack error, then battled with Pacific until the score was tied at 24. The Cougars then put the match away off a block by Gneiting and Whitney Bower and a final kill from Miller.

The Cougars will head to Moraga to face Saint Mary’s on Saturday, Oct. 5, at 1 p.m. PT.

PROVO, Utah – Winners of six straight and 10 of their last 11, the No. 9 BYU women's volleyball team will travel to play at Pacific on Thursday, Oct. 3, before taking on Saint Mary's on Saturday, Oct. 5, in West Coast Conference action. 

BYU Game Notes

The Cougars have started off 3-0 in conference with road wins at Gonzaga and Portland and a home victory on Tuesday against LMU. Pacific is at 2-0 and 10-4 overall while Saint Mary's is 0-2 and 4-8 on the year. The Cougars are 16-7 all-time against Pacific, including 12-0 as WCC opponents since 2011. Against the Gaels, BYU is 15-6, including 13-4 as conference opponents; BYU has won 10 straight dating back to 2014.

BYU heads on the road trip ranked 28th in the nation at 1.73 aces per set and 30th in the country with a .260 hitting percentage. Freshman setter Whitney Bower has been the linchpin in both categories, currently boasting a .61 aces per set average, seventh in the nation, and a 10.18 assists per set average.

Senior All-American McKenna Miller leads the team with 192 kills (3.84 per set) and is second on the team with 19 aces of her own. Junior Kennedy Eschenberg leads all players with a .352 hitting percentage.