Bower’s career milestone leads No. 6 BYU past Gonzaga

SPOKANE, Wash. – Celebrating its 15th consecutive win, No. 6 BYU women’s volleyball took down Gonzaga (25-9, 25-19, 25-21) in the Charlotte Y. Martin Centre on Thursday.

For the season, BYU now holds a 22-1 overall record and remains undefeated in the West Coast Conference at 12-0.

BYU racked up 44 kills, compared to Gonzaga’s 28. Defensively, the Cougars held the Bulldogs to a .128 hitting percentage, achieving nine blocks.

BYU junior setter Whitney Bower achieved a career-milestone of 2,500 career assists. This ranks Bower as No. 6 for all-time assists in BYU history. To top it off, she tallied a double-double for the night, boasting 27 assists and 12 digs. 

Senior outside hitter Taylen Ballard-Nixon and sophomore outside hitter Erin Livingston topped the leaderboard with nine kills each. Junior middle blocker Heather Gneiting followed with eight kills of her own and the highest clip amongst the team, a .538.

SET ONE
BYU started the match strong with a quick 5-0 run, thanks to four kills by four different Cougars. Consecutively, graduate opposite hitter Kenzie Koerber, Bower and Gneiting all notched kills, extending BYU’s lead to 10-3.

Gonzaga’s Cara McKenzie laid down two kills, but graduate middle blocker Kennedy Eschenberg, Livingston and Bower followed suit, putting BYU ahead 14-7. 

BYU tacked on three more kills and an ace from sophomore libero Madi Allen. The combination of seven attack errors by Gonzaga and a .556 clip by BYU ultimately gave the Cougars a set win at 25-9.

SET TWO
BYU quickly racked up a 4-0 run after two kills by Koerber and a service ace by Bower. The Bulldogs barely squeezed in a kill before Koerber laid down another two, widening the gap to 6-1.

The playing field leveled out as the teams traded kills and errors. This continued the entirety of the set. Gonzaga made a comeback, trailing by only four points at 22-18. However, three final errors by the Bulldogs allowed BYU to get ahead, winning the set at 25-19.

SET THREE
The first tie of the night occurred after quick kills by Livingston and Gonzaga’s Juliette Russell. The tie proved to be short-lived after BYU racked up a 4-0 run, finalized with a kill by Koerber. 

Gonzaga managed a 2-0 run, but BYU followed with three kills by Ballard-Nixon, Gneiting and Livingston. Both teams gradually tacked on points until the Bulldogs only trailed 14-13. 

The momentum shifted with a kill by Ballard-Nixon. Livingston, Bower and Gneiting all followed with kills of their own, putting BYU seven points ahead at 20-13. 

Gonzaga continued to fight with a 3-0 run. However, this effort failed to close the gap, allowing BYU to secure the win for the night at 25-21.

Up next, Portland will host BYU in the Chiles Center on Saturday, Nov. 6 at 12 p.m. PDT.