WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL: In the third game of the Molten Classic, the BYU women's volleyball team (3-5) were unable to come out with a win during a five set nail-biter against the Houston Cougars in red (2-6) Saturday morning in the Smith Fieldhouse.
"We're obviously disappointed in our performance this morning," said BYU head coach Shay Goulding. "The truth is, this morning doesn't have anything to do with tonight. So I told the girls to have a clean slate, forget about it, get ready, come back and be a completely new team."
Despite the loss, true freshman Jennifer Hamson recorded a game-high 15 kills for BYU, while Lucy Charuk of Houston tallied 14 kills and Ingrida Zauere had 12.
The Cougars in blue created a comfortable lead for themselves right off the bat in the first set after a 7-0 run, putting the score at 6-2. Hamson contributed in kills, recording five for the set while setter Kiana Rogers totaled ten assists. Houston fought back, but it wasn't enough to make up the difference and BYU took the first set 25-19.
Houston came into the second set armed and ready with a 10-0 run on BYU putting them in the lead 10-3. Charuk of the Cougars in red supplied a set-high four kills, while Amanda Carson tallied seven digs.
BYU was unable to recover from the point deficiency, losing the set 25-16.
BYU's Kimberli Boswell made her collegiate debut contributing a kill for the Cougars in the third set.
However, Houston started off hot and kept the lead through the third set as Ashley Applequist earned five kills. Although BYU rallied hard, they couldn't catch up and the Cougars in red took the third set 25-17.
The fourth set had a change of pace as the Cougars in blue had a quick 3-0 run putting them four points ahead at 6-2. BYU was able to keep that lead throughout with the help of Hamson as she tallied four kills and two digs.
Houston had a few runs of its own, but BYU stayed strong and carried its lead to the end winning the fourth set 25-19 and forcing the match to a full five sets.
A back-and-forth fifth set ended in a tough loss for BYU as Houston took the set and the match 15-13.
BYU will take to the court again Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in its final match of the Molten Classic against Wichita State.
WOMEN'S SOCCER: The No. 10 Cougars (6-0-1) kept its undefeated season alive with the 2-1 victory over the Marquette Golden Eagles (3-3-2) Saturday night on South Field.
"We knew we'd be really anxious to score in this game," said BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood. "We said right before the game that since we couldn't come up with a goal on Thursday we were definitely due for one here tonight and the girls delivered that for us. Marquette is an extremely talented, and tough, team and they played well tonight."
The Cougars got on the board first, netting a quick score in just the first minute. Sophomore Lindsi Lisonbee knocked in the goal for BYU with a header off a corner kick from junior Lauren Anderson. The goal was Lisonbee's second of the season.
"Lindsi's so great at getting those balls in the air and finishing for us," Rockwood said. "She made sure we got on the board quickly tonight."
BYU added to the score in the 35th minute from freshman Lynda Hercules off of an assist from sophomore Carlee Payne. The goal was Hercules' first goal of her collegiate career. Hercules had entered the game as a substitute just one minute prior to the score.
The first half ended in a 2-0 BYU lead with the Golden Eagles looking for the comeback. BYU was able to edge out that threat with keeper McKinzie Olson coming up with some big saves throughout the first and second half. Olson finished with four saves on the night.
The Cougars almost added to their score late in the second half when Hercules had another chance at an open goal, but the shot was deflected by Marquette's Kerry Mcbride.
Marquette cranked up the intensity in the second half and got within one goal of BYU's total with its first goal of the night. In the 83rd minute Rachel Brown netted a score for the Golden Eagless off an assist from Katie Hishmeh.
The Cougars went back on the offense and deflected anymore attempts by the Golden Eagles.
Junior Jennie Marshall led BYU with four shots on goal while sophomore Lindsi Lisonbee and senior Kassidy Shumway adding two apiece. The team took 13 total shots during the game.
Up next for the Cougars is a trip to Texas, starting Sept. 18, against the Rice Owls and finishing Sept. 20, against the Texas Longhorns.