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PROVO — When BYU got off to a slow start in a 3-1 win over Ohio in the opening match of the NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament, the Cougars vowed to change things with less than 24 hours before their second-round match.
Boy, did they.
"We were all really focused and ready for Western Kentucky," senior libero Ciara Parker said. "They're a great team, and they pushed us as well. We got better because of them.
"We knew we could be better, and we wanted to be. We were ready for another opportunity."
Alexa Gray had a match-high 22 kills with just two hitting errors Saturday night, and Amy Boswell added 10 kills and six blocks, to lead the No. 11 BYU women's volleyball team by Western Kentucky, 25-23, 25-17, 25-20 at the Smith Fieldhouse.
Gray put down the match-winning kill on an assist from Camry Willardson, who finished with 23 assists, to lead the Cougars (28-3) to their fourth-straight Sweet 16 appearance.
But it was the first set that set the tone for BYU.
"Our coaches put together a great scouting report, and we adjusted faster than what we did against Ohio," said Gray, who had a team-high eight kills without an error in the first set. "We were able to stop the shots they wanted, and then we could do what we wanted to do."
After trading points for most of the first set, freshman Lacy Haddock scored with three blows during a 5-1 run to give BYU an 18-14 lead over the 20th-ranked Hilltoppers (32-4), who pulled within a point, 21-20, on Rachel Englee's ace.
But Gray and Cosy Burnett, who finished with four kills and four blocks, helped the Cougars hold on for a 25-23 win and the 1-0 advantage. Haddock finished with nine kills and hit .571 just a year after leading Timpview High to the Class 4A state tournament.
"I loved our battle last night," said BYU coach Heather Olmstead, who was an assistant on the previous three Sweet 16 teams. "That was exactly what we needed: Ohio to push us, to find out a little about ourselves. We knew that would push us well … and we were ready to play tonight."
After WKU led by as much as 8-5 early in the second set, Burnett scored back-to-back points on a block and a kill to tie the set at 8-8. Boswell put down three of BYU's 9.5 team blocks during a 10-1 run to pull ahead 25-17 and roll to the 2-0 advantage at the break.
Boswell earned her 10th kill of the match in the final set to give the Cougars an 18-12 lead and cap a 6-0 run. The Hilltoppers rallied and pulled within three, 21-18, on one of Rachel Engle's match-high three aces.
But BYU pulled ahead again, and Gray finished off the rally with her 22nd kill of the night.
"It's great to get the win here," Gray said. "We love playing here, and we are happy and grateful to host these first two rounds. We love our crowd, and we wanted to send them out with a bang."
Sydney Engle led the Hilltoppers with 10 kills, and Jessica Lucas added 34 assists for Western Kentucky.
The Cougars will make their fourth-straight Sweet 16 appearance with a Dec. 11 contest in Lexington, Kentucky, against Nebraska (28-4) — a year after BYU earned a spot in its first-ever national championship match, which it lost to Penn State.
It's fitting that it came in the senior season of players like Gray and Parker, as well as the fourth year of redshirt junior Boswell.
"It's a remarkable senior class and leadership," Olmstead said. "The journey started with Ciara and Lexa and Amy. They've got all the experience in the world, but our expectations are that they come in and work hard every day — and the rest of it takes care of itself. We expect to go play well in the Sweet 16, whoever we are playing.
"The program culture changed when these kids came, and it's helped BYU."
A year ago, when a spurned and unseeded BYU made a march to the final four and national championship match, they screamed "Why not us?" the whole way.
Now that they earned a No. 13 seed as the No. 11 team in the final poll, the song has changed.
Instead of "why not us?" the Cougars are asking, "why not more?"
Next week in Lexington, they'll get that shot.
"We know it's a huge battle every year; it's always a new team. But the core tasted that national championship last year, and we want to get back," Boswell said. "I don't think the Sweet 16 is going to be it for us. We know what we want to do, and we are going to work really hard to get there."
