IOWA CITY, Iowa — The No. 17-ranked BYU women's volleyball team opened the 2007 season with a three-game sweep over Marquette of the Big East Conference Friday at the Hawkeye Challenge. The Cougars downed the Golden Eagles 30-23, 30-27, 30-22 for the victory.
Senior outside hitter Chelsea Goodman led the Cougars with 14 kills. She made only three hitting errors in her 26 attacks for a .423 hitting percentage. Junior middle blocker Rachel Dyer was the most efficient Cougar on the night, hitting .750 with six kills and no errors.
Joining Goodman with double-digit kills were senior Erica Lott and junior Bryn Porter with 11 and 10 winners, respectively.
The Cougars face host Iowa tonight at 6.
No. 5 UCLA 3, No. 21 UTAH 0: At Omaha, Neb., the University of Utah got 11 kills from Kathryn Haynie, but it wasn't enough as the Utes fell to UCLA in three games (30-23, 30-21, 30-27) at the AVCA Showcase.
In addition to Haynie's 11 kills, senior Connie Dangerfield tallied 21 digs, while freshman Keisha Fisher, who made her first start for the Utes, had 34 assists and 17 digs.
"I thought we did some really good things tonight," coach Beth Launiere said. "There wasn't a lot of flow to our game."
Senior Whitney Webb tallied eight kills and six digs, while Kate Robison had nine kills and 14 digs.
Utah plays again today at 6 p.m. against either Nebraska or Tennessee.
USU FALLS TWICE: Utah Statel lost its season opener Friday to the University of Arizona, 30-24, 30-26, 30-25, in the first match of the 2007 Sheraton Wildcat Classic in Tucson. Utah State was led by junior Melissa Osterloh, who recorded a double-double in the match with 11 kills and 13 digs. USU also got a solid performance from senior Amanda Nielson, who had 12 kills and six digs. In the nightcap, the Aggies fell to Saint Mary's 30-15, 30-26 and 30-26.
WYOMING 3, UTAH VALLEY 2: At Orem, Wyoming spoiled Utah Valley's season opener Friday with a come-from-behind five-game victory, 30-24, 24-30, 24-30, 30-17, 15-7. The Wolverines built a 2-1 lead with a win in game three, but the Cowgirls stormed back and dominated the final two games to win the match. Camie Manwill had 19 kills to lead UV while Jessica Endres added 18. The Wolverines will travel to Indianapolis next weekend for the Butler Invitational.
RICKHURST 3, DIXIE 1: No. 22 Rockhurst (Mo.) defeated Dixie State in the sixth match of the Best Western Alamosa Inn/Grizzly Inn Volleyball Classic.