No. 12 BYU women's volleyball opens rivalry week with bounceback win over Utah

PROVO — A trip home and an archrival were just what the 12th-ranked BYU women's volleyball team needed Wednesday night.

Four days after a loss to then-No. 13 Washington State, Erin Livingston poured in 16 kills and three blocks, and freshman Claire Little added 14 kills and two blocks as No. 12 BYU bounced back from its first loss of the year with a 25-13, 23-25, 25-19, 25-16 win Wednesday night over Utah.

Sophomore opposite Kate Prior added 10 kills and five blocks for the Cougars (9-1), who got 37 assists, seven digs and five kills from Whitney Bower in front of a standing room-only crowd of 5,528 fans in the Smith Fieldhouse — the most ever for a women's volleyball match in the venue.

"We were excited to get back at it with a good game against Utah," Prior said. "It was a good comeback game."

Rianne Vos led Utah (4-5) with 10 kills and 13 digs, and Emrie Satuala, Kamry Bailey and Allie Olsen each added nine kills to go along with Viktoria Wahlgren's 33 assists for the Utes, who close out nonconference play Friday against Weber State (7 p.m. MDT, Pac-12 Insider).

BYU was dynamite from the service line, with Hannah Billeter serving up three of the Cougars' eight aces, while Billeter also tied transfer libero Kamaile Hiapo with a team-high 12 digs.

"I thought we were pretty fired up to get back after it quickly after that loss against a good Washington State team," BYU coach Heather Olmstead said. "So to be able to play another Pac-12 team right away and test ourselves at home, we were stoked to get back in the day, practice for two days, re-center ourselves and re-focus, and I thought we came out with great energy.

"We were really dialed into the game plan, and I thought the players executed really well in the first set. It kind of threw Utah off a little bit."

Prior and freshman Mia Lee paced a 5.5-team block performance in the first set, holding the Utes to a negative .185 hitting percentage en route to a 25-13 win to open the match.

Utah took advantage of Lee's departure from the floor by tying the match at 17-17 on a kill by Lauren Jardine. Back-to-back points through Livingston's kill and a double block by Lee and fellow freshman Little then tied the set at 23-all.

But Vos put the next one away to help the Utes tie up the match with a 25-23 second-set victory.

Did we mention something about BYU bouncing back, though?

The Cougars did that on the night, as well.

"We told them to slow down a little bit, take some deep breaths, and get back to our game plan," Olmstead said. "We knew that Utah was going to play better after that first set; they hit negative, and that's not them. They played better in the second set, and we didn't adjust as well. I thought they came out on tip-and-roll off the ball, and our team didn't respond the way they needed to."

BYU led by as much as 14-9 on a kill by Livingston, but Utah battled back in the third set to tie up the match on a pair of errors 17-17.

Olmstead called timeout, and Prior responded with a kill that sparked a 5-0 run with back-to-back kills by Little as the Cougars took a 25-19 win in the third set to go up, 2-1.

But the brightest stars shine on the biggest stage. Livingston posted back-to-back blocks en route to a 12-2 lead in the fourth set spurred by a pair of kills from Bower.

BYU never looked back, taking its first of three-straight matches against in-state opponents in four sets as Little sent the match-ending kill past the end line, 25-16.

"Claire did a great job offensively, taking smart swings," Olmstead said of her freshman hitter. "She's got a great arm, and great energy. She's a big block. We're just trying to simplify the game for her a little bit, and see if we can get her scoring in the front row and bring in her strength, which is her arm and her energy and her scoring for us. I thought Claire did exactly what we needed her to do tonight."

The Cougars continue the Beehive State swing Friday at crosstown rival Utah Valley (6 p.m. MDT, ESPN+) before heading to Logan to face Olmstead's alma mater Utah State Saturday night (7 p.m. MDT, Mountain West Network).

The Wolverines, who host Utah State Thursday night, are off to a 3-6 start with wins over Utah and Gonzaga.

"We love rivalry week," said Prior, whose team opens Big 12 play next Wednesday, Sept. 20 against No. 22 Houston (7 p.m. MDT, ESPNU). "So much fun, so much energy, so much excitement. We love playing against our Utah friends.

"Playing against our rivals with all this energy is a good chance to show that we can be good over time."

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