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PROVO — For all of Whitney Bower's weapons with the No. 16-ranked BYU women's volleyball team, sometimes the easiest play to make is the simplest.
Lob it up, and go make a play.
Erin Livingston was happy to oblige Friday night.
Livingston poured in 21 kills, four digs and two blocks as BYU made quick work of Weber State 25-16, 25-16, 27-25 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in a match that lasted just over 90 minutes at the Smith Fieldhouse.
Whitney McEwan-Llarenas had nine kills and five blocks for the Cougars, who got 31 assists and 11 digs from Bower, and 12 digs from Kamaile Hiapo for the No. 4 seed that advanced to face fifth-seeded Arizona State in Saturday's second round.
"I can see the fire in the eye of all my hitters, and that's what I love about my job," said Bower, the Cougars' career leader in assists in the rally scoring era who joked "that happens a lot" with Livingston. "Erin is definitely an easy one to just lob it up to, and she puts pressure on it."
Dani Richins led Weber State with 11 kills and 11 digs, and Kate Standifird dished out 24 assists with five digs and three blocks for the Wildcats, who won the Big Sky Conference Tournament to clinch the program's third-ever trip to the national tournament.
"We've been waiting for this, to advance in the tournament and keep playing good teams after good teams," BYU coach Heather Olmstead said. "We've been playing since our foreign trip and everything for these moments. The next one is a very good Arizona State team. … Every team is dangerous in the NCAA Tournament, but that makes us dangerous."
Livingston had eight kills, and Bower dished out 11 assists as the Cougars held the Wildcats to .059 hitting en route to a 25-16 set-one victory.
Hannah Billeter's ace helped spark a 10-2 run as BYU turned a 16-14 edge into a 25-16 second-set victory, with a 3-1 blocking edge that helped hold Weber State to .143 hitting en route to the 2-0 lead.
Ashley Gneiting smashed back-to-back aces to cap a 5-0 scoring run that lifted the Wildcats to a 12-7 advantage in the third set, and Standifird and Saane Kate stretched the lead to 15-9 with a block.
But the Cougars didn't panic; they've been there before, even in that same home setting through 12-straight NCAA Tournaments, a 13-5 record in their first season in the Big 12, and 13-1 mark at home in 2023.
Stay focused. Stay composed. That's all Olmstead said to her team as they trailed early before forcing a third-set rally.
"We feel that pressure every day in practice," Livingston said. "I think we felt natural in that moment to go out, be assertive, and be fearless in that moment."
Elyse Stowell smashed one from the pin off Weber's back row to cut the deficit to one, 18-17, and McEwan-Llarenas tied the match moments later at 19-all.
Richins squeezed one down the line to lift the Wildcats to a 22-20 advantage, then laid down her 11th kill of the match across the net for a 23-21 edge.
Mia Lee helped the Cougars tie up the set, 24-24 before taking the 27-25 win.
"Dani's been with me for six years. Makayla, this is her second NCAA Tournament; she's the best libere Weber State has seen," said Weber State coach Jeremiah Larsen, who played collegiately at BYU. "But more importantly, it's not just the records they've put in here at Weber State. It's the leadership and the legacy that they've created of years to come.
"Our freshmen are going to remember these two and tell stories to future freshmen about what they mean and what it means to be all-conference kids. … I couldn't imagine a better duo to be able to coach. They did everything I asked them to do, and more."
Makayla Sorensen had 12 digs to lead the Wildcats' defense.
"It's our last game. We could dwell on those first two sets, or we could play that third set," Sorensen said. "I think we competed really well, and that's what we want to remember for this last one."
No. 5 Arizona State 3, Georgia 0
Marta Levinski laid down 17 kills with four blocks, and Geli Cyr added 10 kills and seven digs as the fifth-seeded Sun Devils rolled to a 25-21, 25-12, 25-20 win over Georgia in straight sets in the Smith Fieldhouse in Provo.
Shannon Shields dished out 28 assists for Arizona State, which outhit the Bulldogs .427 to .151 in advancing to Saturday's second round at the Smith Fieldhouse.
Sophie Fischer led Georgia with nine kills and two blocks, and Clara Brewer added 28 assists.
Minnesota 3, No. 6 Utah State 0
Shelby Capllonch logged a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs as sixth-seeded Utah State lost to Minnesota in straight sets 25-17, 25-14, 25-23 in an NCAA Tournament opener in Omaha, Nebraska.
Beatriz Rodriguez dished out 15 assists, and Kelsey Watson added a team-high five blocks for the Aggies (24-17), who lost just one game in Mountain West play before ending the postseason with back-to-back losses.
The Gophers (17-12) out-hit Utah State .196 to .048 to advance to the second round.
