No. 9 BYU continues winning streak, sweeping Portland

PROVO, Utah — No. 9 BYU women’s volleyball swept Portland (25-16, 25-15, 25-10) in the Smith Fieldhouse on Thursday night.

BYU is now 15-1 overall and 5-0 in West Coast Conference play. The Cougars are on an eight-match winning streak, sweeping the last 24 consecutive sets.

The Cougars recorded a .430 hitting percentage with 47 kills and held Portland to a .027 clip on 18 kills. 

Senior outside hitter Taylen Ballard-Nixon led BYU with 13 kills, her third match in a row reaching double-digit kills. Opposite hitter Kenzie Koerber recorded nine kills with a .600 hitting percentage. Junior middle blocker Heather Gneiting and middle blocker Kennedy Eschenberg both had six kills.

“We all came in focusing on the task and on our own jobs,” Ballard-Nixon said. “We executed our jobs well, and when we do that, we’re able to execute as a team.”

SET ONE
BYU earned the first point of the match with a kill from Koerber. Shortly into the set, the Cougars went on a 6-0 scoring run featuring kills from Koerber, Ballard-Nixon and Eschenberg, followed by a service ace from libero Madi Allen.

Back-to-back aces from Koerber brought the score to 14-3. BYU continued to widen the gap, leading by 13 points at 18-5. All of Portland’s points were the result of BYU errors. The Pilots were finally able to push past BYU’s defense, going on a 7-0 scoring run, which brought the score to 22-15. However, BYU's 18 kills and .455 clip surpassed Portland's seven kills and .273. This would result in a set win for the Cougars, 25-16.

SET TWO
A kill by Portland’s Charity Bradley, daughter of BYU Basketball alumnus Shawn Bradley, earned the Pilots the first point of the second set. The score remained tight during the beginning of the set. However, the Cougars earned their first substantial lead after several Portland errors and a kill from Ballard-Nixon, bringing the score to 13-8.

BYU maintained its lead throughout the rest of the set. A block from Gneiting and another kill from Ballard-Nixon brought the score to 17-9. The Pilots pushed back with a few points of their own, but the team's clip of -.036 with nine errors, gave BYU the set win of 25-15.

SET THREE 
Eschenberg opened the third set with a kill, giving BYU the first point of the final set. Portland answered with a three points of its own, gaining a brief lead. A quick 6-0 scoring run gave BYU a 9-5 lead. Portland managed four points before BYU went on a 9-0 scoring run. Tack on three kills by Ballard-Nixon and the Cougars led 23-9. The Pilots would earn one more point before a final kill from Ballard-Nixon and an ace from Eschenberg completed the sweep, with a 25-10 final score in the third set.

BYU’s next match will be against Gonzaga this Saturday, Oct. 9 at 12 p.m. MDT. The match will take place at the Smith Fieldhouse and will be available on BYUtv, at BYUtv.org and on the BYU App.