PROVO -- Defense was the order of the day for the No. 24 BYU women’s volleyball team as the Cougars swept Air Force in their MWC home opener, playing in the Smith Fieldhouse for the first time in 28 days.

“We were able to really get our middles going tonight,” said BYU head coach Shay Goulding. “I really like where we’re at. We’re in a good situation.”

BYU (9-3, 2-1 MWC) posted 10 blocks on the night while holding the Falcons (4-11, 0-4 MWC) to just a .067 hitting percentage. Senior middle blocker Rachel Dyer led the way for the Cougars with nine kills on .500 hitting while posting a season-high seven rejections. Sophomore libero Melissa Lake posted 16 digs to pace the Cougars in her first career start. Sophomore setter Kiana Rogers had a solid all-around match with 27 assists, eight digs, four kills and two blocks.

Set one began with the two teams trading points to a 6-6 tie until BYU took control with an 8-2 run. Back-to-back blocks from Dyer and Malia Marquardt highlighted the spurt that allowed the Cougars to take a 14-8 lead. The Falcons attempted a comeback, but BYU scored eight of the last 10 points to take the 25-13 victory. The Cougars tallied five rejections in the set led by three each from Dyer and Marquardt.

After two Falcon points to open the second set, Dyer got BYU on the board with a huge kill straight down the middle. Air Force kept the pressure on to a 9-9 tie until BYU scored three straight points. However, just when it looked like the Cougars would take over, three points the other way had the score knotted once again. A kill from Kayla Walker and a block by Dyer and Rogers put BYU up by two at 14-12, which would prove the difference in the set. The Falcons tried to push back with a 5-1 run but could not overtake the Cougars, who surged to the 25-20 win.

With the sweep on the horizon, BYU came out firing in set three, jumping out to a 7-2 lead as freshman Casey Speredon and sophomore Christina Measom made their debuts. The Falcons responded with a 6-1 run that allowed them to tie the set at 9-9. A battle ensued from there as AFA was able to take its first lead of the set at 13-12, but BYU responded on the next ball with a kill from Dyer. The winner proved to be the spark the Cougars were looking for as it began a 9-2 BYU run to give the Cougars a 21-15 advantage. From there, BYU pulled out the 25-19 triumph.

The Cougars will now hit the road for the fourth time in the last five weeks as they continue MWC play at New Mexico and TCU. BYU will face the Lobos on Thursday at 7 p.m. in a match broadcast on both The Mtn. and BYU Radio. Saturday’s match at the Horned Frogs will begin at 1 p.m. and be aired tape-delay on BYU Radio at 5 p.m.

Fans can join the official BYU Women’s Volleyball Texting Group by texting “WVB” to 83043. Members of the group will get updates about game times and special promotions.

PROVO -- For the first time in 28 days, the No. 24 BYU women’s volleyball team will be playing in the Smith Fieldhouse as the Cougars (8-3, 1-1 MWC) host Air Force (4-9, 0-2 MWC) at home on Saturday. The match will begin at 7 p.m. and be aired on KBYU at 10:10 p.m. and BYUTV at 10:30 p.m. due to the broadcast the General Relief Society Meeting. The match will also be shown Sunday at 2 p.m. on The Mtn.

“It feels good to come home,” said BYU head coach Shay Goulding. “We have been on the road for quite a while now, and we are really looking forward to playing in front of our Smith Fieldhouse crowd.”

BYU has played its last eight matches on the road after beginning the year hosting the Molten Classic. After that, the Cougars played in tournaments at Texas A&M and Wisconsin before opening conference play at Wyoming and Colorado State. Including matches next week at New Mexico and TCU, BYU will play 10 of its first 14 matches this season on the road.

The Cougars began league play last week with a 1-1 record, sweeping Wyoming (25-14, 25-19, 27-25) before falling in three sets (18-25, 20-25, 19-25) at No. 15 Colorado State, the reigning MWC Champions. Senior Rachel Dyer had a phenomenal performance against the Cowgirls as she posted 10 kills on 12 swings for a .833 hitting percentage, tying for the sixth-best single-match attack efficiency in BYU history. Dyer and junior Kayla Walker led the Cougars with 10 kills each. Against the Rams, Walker again paced the team with 12 winners, but BYU struggled offensively in the match, tallying a .077 hitting percentage as CSU racked up 14 blocks in three sets in front of a crowd of 3,667 in Moby Arena.

On the year, senior co-captains Dyer and Bryn Porter rank sixth in the MWC in hitting percentage and kills, respectively. Junior libero Morgan Lloyd, a transfer from Salt Lake Community College, is fourth in the league in digs and third in aces. Junior middle blocker Ashton Hansen Hosford is second in blocks.

The Air Force Falcons are 4-9 overall and 0-2 in conference play so far this year after being swept by UNLV and San Diego State. The Falcons have played all 13 matches at home and will be playing their first road contest of the season on Thursday at Utah before facing the Cougars on Saturday. AFA is led by senior middle blocker Jasamine Pettie at 2.53 kills per set. True freshman Victoria Martinez boasts a team-best 3.06 digs per set, which also ranks seventh in the MWC.

In addition to national coverage on BYUTV, the match will be available on BYU All-Access and GameTracker. Links to both options can be found by going to the schedule page of the BYU women’s volleyball homepage at http://www.byucougars.com/volleyball_w/.

Fans can join the official BYU Women’s Volleyball Texting Group by texting “WVB” to 83043. Members of the group will get updates about game times and special promotions.