PROVO, Utah – In a nationally televised game between two West Coast Conference powerhouses, four Cougars recorded double-figure kills and digs as the No. 17 BYU women's volleyball team defeated the No. 18 San Diego Toreros, 3-1 (25-12, 21-25, 25-23, 25-18) Wednesday night. With the victory, the Cougars are now the No. 1 team in the conference.

"That was an outstanding match for us," head coach Shawn Olmstead said. "To get down like that, it's nice to respond when your back's against the wall, lose in a set and things are even, then come back and respond that way."

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BYU improves to 22-2 overall and 10-2 in conference play. The Cougars have already eclipsed their total wins from last year when the team finished 21-9. San Diego falls to 17-5 and 9-3 in conference.

Sophomore Tia Withers recorded a career-high 24 digs and junior Jennifer Hamson tallied a double-double with 15 kills and 12 digs and also had nine blocks. Senior Nicole Warner recorded a double-double as well, her first of the year, with 11 kills and 10 blocks. Ten blocks is also a BYU season-high in a four-set match.

Middle blocker Kathryn LeCheminant also tied her career-high and set her season-high with 10 total kills in the match. Setter Heather Hannemann had the third double-double of the night with 40 assists and 11 digs. Freshman Ciara Parker had 17 digs and freshman Kimberly Dahl had 11 kills.

The Cougars took the lead in the first set and never trailed. Ahead 15-10, the Cougars went on a 10-2 run to claim the first. Warner, who is No. 1 in Division I volleyball in blocks per game, led the team with four blocks and four kills.

BYU scored the first point in the second set, but San Diego scored the last. After trailing by as many as eight points, the Cougars fought back from a 20-14 deficit to cut the lead to 22-20. But the Toreros pulled away with a couple blocks and a kill to finish the set. Hamson and junior LeCheminant both tallied three kills on the set. 

The third set proved to be the longest, with a combined 48 points scored and four different lead changes. BYU took a quick 7-4 advantage but never held a bigger lead. With the score tied at 22, Hamson scored two late kills and the Toreros committed an error to push the Cougars over the edge. Senior setter Hannemann aided in the victory with 12 assists and five digs.

The fourth set featured six tie scores and an 8-0 BYU run, the largest of the night. During that run, outside hitter Dahl scored four consecutive kills. On the final play of the set, freshman Alexa Gray lobbed the ball over the top of the net to secure the win for the Cougars.

The Halloween match was featured on ESPNU, the first time a BYU match has been on an ESPN network since 2007. The match will be rebroadcast on BYUtv Thursday at 9 p.m. MDT following the broadcast of the BYU women's basketball exhibition game.

The team hosts Loyola Marymount on Saturday at 1 p.m. MDT.

San Diego vs. BYU Box Score

PROVO, Utah—In a battle to lead the West Coast Conference, No. 17 BYU women’s volleyball welcomes No. 18 San Diego to the Smith Fieldhouse Wednesday.

The match begins at 8 p.m. MDT and will air on ESPNU, BYU’s first match on an ESPN Network since the Cougars faced then-No. 1 Penn State in the 2007 NCAA Regional Championship on ESPNU.

The Cougars will also face Loyola Marymount at home Saturday at 1 p.m. MDT. The match will be played live on BYUtv.

The Cougars are 21-2 on the season and 9-2 in conference play after two road wins against Gonzaga and Portland Thursday and Saturday, respectively. San Diego, tied with BYU for first place in the WCC, comes off a loss to Santa Clara Saturday, which put the Toreros' record at 17-4 and 9-2 in league.

The two losses on both teams’ conference records were to Saint Mary’s and Santa Clara. BYU lost to both teams on the road and San Diego lost to Saint Mary’s on the road and Santa Clara at home.

BYU looks to defend its undefeated home record (8-0) against San Diego, which holds a 5-3 road record this season.

At opposite hitter, 6-foot-7 Jennifer Hamson averages 3.92 kills per set to lead the Cougars. Setter Heather Hannemann collects 11.31 assists per set and libero Tia Withers has 2.78 digs per set.

Middle blocker Nicole Warner, No. 1 in NCAA Division I volleyball in blocks, averages 1.75 blocks per set.

San Diego

The Toreros last faced the Cougars in 2011 and came away with a 3-1 win. San Diego leads the series with BYU 3-1-0.

San Diego relies on middle hitters Chloe Ferrari and Katie Hoekman to lead the offense. Ferrari averages 2.79 kills per set and Hoekman averages 2.64. Hoekman also leads in blocks with 1.11 per set.

Setter Rachel Alvey helps out with 4.11 assists per set and libero Kandiss Anderson leads the team in digs with 4.11.

San Diego looks to end a two-match losing streak after last week’s loss to Saint Mary’s.

Loyola Marymount

Loyola Marymount is 14-10 on the season and 5-6 in conference. The Lions come off a 3-0 win against Gonzaga.

In BYU’s last meeting with the Lions this season, the Cougars took the 3-2 victory. BYU leads the series 5-0-0.

Outside hitter Kathleen Luft leads the team with 4.00 kills per set helped out by setter Hannah Tedrow’s 8.77 assists average. Middle blocker Litara Keil contributes 1.12 blocks per set and defensive specialist Betsi Metter has 4.75 digs per set.

How to watch

The match against San Diego will be broadcast on ESPNU and a live stats link is available on the women’s volleyball schedule page. The match can also be viewed online on the Watch ESPN page and will be rebroadcast on BYUtv Nov. 1 at 9 p.m. following a women's basketball exhibition game broadcast.

Fans can watch the match against Loyola Marymount on BYUtv or byutvsports.com. Live stats are also available on the schedule page. Watch the BYUtv promo for the match on YouTube.

Halloween party

Prior to the San Diego match, fans can attend a Halloween party in the annex of the Smith Fieldhouse (west of the volleyball court) to trick or treat and hang out with BYU athletes. The event begins at 6 p.m. and will end when the match starts. A special family pass for the San Diego match will be available for $10.