How LOVB Salt Lake star helped Brielle Kemavor pace No. 20 BYU women's volleyball

PROVO — They say to never meet your heroes, but BYU's Brielle Kemavor scarcely imagined she'd meet one of hers before her sophomore season.

Yet, there was no disappointment on Kemavor's face when the BYU sophomore middle block stood in front of Team USA Olympic medalist and former Penn State three-time All-American Haleigh Washington after a serve-and-pass session earlier this season.

In a critical offseason for Kemavor's progression, the 6-foot-5 big stayed in Provo rather than travel home to Bristow, Virginia; spent more time in the weight room; and reviewed a lot of tape of some of the best middle blockers in the world.

At the top of the list? Washington, who will begin play for LOVB Salt Lake in January.

"I watched all of her film to see how she moved, how she played, and how she dominated volleyball," Kemavor told KSL.com. "I watched her film for hours and hours.

"I really look up to her. So when she was here, it was surreal; I've been watching her on my phone, and now I got to meet her in person. My emotions overcame me. It was surreal — and amazing."

Kemavor's progression has been crucial for BYU, which improved to 14-7 overall and 7-4 in Big 12 play after a close 3-0 sweep of Arizona on Saturday.

The 21st-ranked Cougars will travel north to face No. 23 Utah on Friday night, a precursor to the rivalry football game a day later, set to begin at 7 p.m. MST in the Huntsman Center.

BYU held off the Utes in five sets Oct. 19 in Provo, part of a run of four wins in five matches that has both teams in the top six in the Big 12 behind co-leaders Arizona State and Kansas.

But getting to the point of starting 21 matches after playing in 12 a year ago wasn't always easy.

The east-coast native has fallen in love with her team, her school, and Provo's burgeoning thrift scene to become one of the top middles in college volleyball.

Kemavor leads the Big 12 and ranks No. 19 nationally with 117 blocks, as well as 21st nationally with 1.39 blocks per set.

Before the MaxPreps Player of the Year in 2022 out of Virginia's Colgan High began her sophomore season, she made a personal sacrifice. She didn't go back home in the offense while her mother — who grew up in Orem and attended BYU — and sister moved to the Salt Lake area, to better attend each of the middle blocker's home matches.

"This is the farthest I've been from my family and friends in Virginia," said Kemavor, who grew up a BYU fan but adds her mother never wanted to push the Cougars on her recruiting decisions. "Not getting to see them is sad, but you've got to stay on the ground."

Instead, she replaced the offseason travel with more time in the gym, added strength training, and watching highlights of star middles like Washington. She was 'an absolute beast' in the offseason, BYU coach Heather Olmstead said.

"She worked her tail off to get better at her skills, at volleyball, to get a stronger and quicker arm, to get better blocking eyes," Olmstead said. "You could see it in the spring, and it's translated to the fall – and I'm not surprised how well she's doing.

"I'm so happy for her, and she can still get even better. That's what's encouraging and exciting for her is she can still get even better."

Kemavor is one of six sophomores (with five freshmen) on a BYU squad learning on the fly while trying to keep up with the half-dozen AVCA Top 25 teams in the Big 12.

But she's also making history in her own right. In last week's 3-1 win over Colorado, Kemavor had 14 kills and 12 blocks to register just the third double-double by a BYU middle blocker.

She's just the seventh BYU player to record a double-double in the rally scoring era, and the first with more than one in a single season since 2012.

Kemavor is also quick to give credit to her teammates, like graduate transfer Kjersti Strong. The Saint Mary's transfer from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, who prepped at nearby Skyridge High has become a near-perfect complement to Kemavor in the middle, as the duo first developed a relationship of Kemavor inviting Strong "to whatever we were doing when she came in."

"But the BYU culture is so inviting," said Kemavor, who teammates call BK to distinguish her from sophomore libero Brielle Miller. "That's one of my favorite things about this team. When she came in, and as soon as she was a Cougar, we completely accepted her. It was easy; she was just part of our team."

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