Livingston, No. 9 BYU women's volleyball dominate Iowa State for 10th sweep of year

PROVO — If Erin Livingston lives by one mantra at the pin, it may be this: Let 'er rip.

At least, she did Thursday night.

Livingston blasted 15 kills, three digs and three block assists; and Whitney Bower added 27 assists, four kills, eight digs and two blocks as No. 9 BYU won its third-straight match 25-14, 25-17, 25-18 over Iowa State in front of an announced crowd of 3,525 fans at the Smith Fieldhouse.

It's the 10th sweep of the season for the Cougars (17-3, 6-2 Big 12), who have only played in one five-set match — a 3-2 win over Texas Tech Friday that was followed by a 3-0 sweep one night later.

Fresh off Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors, freshman Mia Lee poured in five kills and four blocks, and Whitney Llarenas-McEwan added six blocks for BYU. Kamaile Hiapo had eight digs and Aria McComber seven for the Cougars, who totaled 40 digs and 10 blocks in the sweep.

Livingston hit .542 with just two errors on 24 swings, the fourth time in her career (and second of the season) she's hit over .500. The fifth-year senior from Corona, California, also hit .724 in a 3-0 sweep at Oklahoma, laying down 22 kills on 29 swings with just one error that night.

"I just wanted to hit high and hard, and use my toolbox," Livingston said of Thursday night's performance. "Hit different shots, and my middles and Whitney were keeping the middles inside, giving me some seams and letting me hit it."

Bower leaned on Livingston, and the senior did her job. What about head coach Heather Olmstead? She just stayed out of the way, she joked.

"When your players are in the zone, you can see it. The crowd can see it," Olmstead said. "We just tried to let them perform and let their skills come out; don't say too much. Just keep encouraging her to be assertive. I keep telling her to go for it. You don't do a ton of coaching when you can tell players are in the zone, and Whitney Bower and Erin Livingston were definitely in the zone today."

Maya Duckworth had 10 kills to lead Iowa State (13-5, 4-3 Big 12), and Morgan Brandt dished out 25 assists with four digs for the Cyclones, who fell out of the AVCA top 25 following a three-set loss to Kansas State — their second setback in three matches.

The Cougars blitzed through the first set of the inaugural match between the two teams, holding the Cyclones to .029 hitting while compiling 12 kills with just two errors en route to the 25-14 early advantage.

Livingston laid down six of her first kill attempts with ease, pacing a BYU attack that hit .417 with all but three kills coming from the pin hitters to go along with three team blocks.

The Cyclones came back hot. Duckworth tied the set at 4-4 with a kill, then served an ace during a 3-0 spurt to tie the set again, 8-8.

But Lee swung hard through the middle to cap a 7-2 run and put BYU up 18-11 to pull away for the 25-17 win on another kill by Lee.

After the fast start, Iowa State hit just .091 in the second set, putting down nine kills with six errors on 33 swings.

"I really liked the way we came out. We came out pretty assertive and ready to play, excited to be back home against a good Iowa State team," Olmstead said. "I loved our offense. Whitney set a great match, probably one of her best and most consistent matches of the year. That allowed us to have some seams in the block, and Erin went off. I loved her assertiveness at the net, and all around our middles."

With the third set tied at 8-8, Hiapo had arguably the kill of the night. After Hannah Billeter controlled an attack with a dig, McEwan-Llarenas lifted the ball on the front row — right to the 5-foot-7 graduate transfer libero from Gilbert, Arizona.

Without missing a beat, Hiapo pushed the ball over the net with an attack that resembled a set from the back floor. After taking an initial touch, the loose ball then fell harmlessly to the floor to give BYU the point.

Moments later, Elyse Stowell capped a 5-0 scoring run for the Cougars to go up 17-13, and Iowa State never threatened again.

BYU hosts the Cyclones at 7 p.m. MDT Friday before hitting the road again at Kansas State next Thursday and Friday.

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