BYU women’s volleyball has been one of the school’s most consistently successful — and at times, dominant — programs for years now, and 2024 has been no different.
The Cougars have punched their ticket for a 13th consecutive NCAA tournament berth, earning a No. 5 seed and facing Loyola Chicago Thursday in West Lafayette, Indiana.
“We’re super excited to be heading into the NCAA Tournament,” BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said in a statement. “We’re grateful to be playing Loyola Chicago, I think they’re a great team. We’re going to dive into them later today, but as a group we’re really happy with the body of work that we put together this whole season. We’ve battled and we’ve gotten better, and that’s what we’re going to continue to focus on this week so we can play our best volleyball in the tournament.”
BYU, who ranks No. 24 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, went 19-9 during the regular season with a 12-6 mark in Big 12 play. The Cougars finished sixth out of 16 league teams, with key wins over No. 11 Kansas, No. 18 Baylor and No. 20 Utah.
Olmstead’s squad has been strong defensively, leading the Big 12 in blocks with 2.6 per set thanks in part to Brielle Kemavor’s 1.49 mark, which ranks No. 10 nationally. Additionally, BYU is fourth in the conference and No. 33 nationally in hitting percentage with a .261 clip.
Kemavor’s success landed her on the All-Big 12 First Team along with teammate Claire Little, whose 4.4 points per set at outside hitter were good for fourth in the conference. The only other Cougars with conference honors were All-Rookie selections Alex Bower and Elli Mortensen.
BYU has a deep roster, using nine different starting lineups this season while 12 different players have started at least one match, according to BYU Sports Information. Other key Cougars include dig specialists Lulu Uluave and Hannah Billeter, middle blocker Hannah Billeter and opposite hitter Kate Prior.
Never in Olmstead’s tenure has BYU failed to advance past the first round of the tournament, but Loyola Chicago presents a unique challenge this year to continue the streak. The Ramblers have been on fire, riding a 12-match winning streak and toppling No. 23 Dayton in their conference championship to hoist the Atlantic 10 crown and steal an automatic bid for the NCAA tournament.
Thursday will mark the first-ever volleyball meeting between the Cougars and Loyola Chicago. BYU’s defensive strength will be tested, as the red-hot Ramblers average 17.23 points per set and hit at a .247 clip on the season.
Should the Cougars win on Thursday, they would advance to play either No. 4 seed Purdue or Western Michigan. Thursday’s first round action will be broadcast on ESPN+.
