There were 1,137 screaming fans packed into the Swenson Gym on Saturday afternoon as the Weber State volleyball squad finished off its in-state week by taking on No. 1 BYU.
“What a fun opportunity to host one of the best teams in the country,” said head coach Jeremiah Larsen. “We learned a lot about what we need to do to become more consistent. We feel that we are in a wonderful position for the beginning of conference play.”
Weber State fell in three sets to the Cougars but put up impressive efforts in all three sets.
In the first set, Weber State jumped out to a 4-1 lead over BYU. WSU maintained the lead until BYU tied everything up and took the first lead of the game with a 4-0 run. After being tied at 13-13, the Cougars went on a 9-2 run that completely captivated the momentum of the set, and Weber State fell in the first set, 25-18.
The ending of the second set was something to note. BYU had set point with a 24-11 score. Weber State came up with a 7-0 run. Andrea Hale, Megan Gneiting and Kennedy Redd had big kills in that run to help the Wildcat efforts. WSU ultimately fell 25-18 in the second set.
Weber State remained neck and neck with BYU early in the third set and was tied at 12-12. The Cougars then went on a 7-0 run before a kill by Redd gave WSU the ball back. BYU ultimately finished the third set with a 25-16 victory and the overall match sweep of 3-0.
The Wildcats had 27 kills, 27 assists and 20 digs on the night. BYU had 49 kills, 48 assists and 30 digs.
Weber State is now 5-4 overall on the season and starts Big Sky Conference action Thursday at Southern Utah and Saturday at Northern Arizona.