BYU women’s volleyball is on a tear through the first 13 games of the season. The No. 10-ranked Cougars have lost just one match, to No. 13 Washington State (who are also the Cougars), and have not yet gone to a fifth set.
At the forefront of BYU’s success is grit and determination. Both of those crucial components were on full display during a wild rally on Wednesday night!
The Cougars hosted No. 20 Houston (who are also the Cougars) in Provo and took an early 15-9 in the second set after going up 1-0 in the match. BYU started things off with a float serve and the chaos began.
Houston returned service with a short tip that landed inside of the attack line.
BYU setter Whitney Bower was all over it for pancake number one. Her dig was impressive by itself, but the crazy play was nowhere near a conclusion.
It included three pancakes, two overhead bump sets, and a kick save! At least 27 players got a touch on the ball throughout the 30-second rally. Here is how it all went down:
Watching the play in real time was electric. Seeing some of the saves in slow-motion is even crazier.
Bower, a senior, was the star of the rally with two pancakes and a kick save. Sophomore defensive specialist Hannah Billeter, senior outside hitter Erin Livingston and graduate transfer libero Kamaile Hiapo also deserve their flowers for keeping the play alive.
The BYU Cougars went on to sweep the Houston Cougars 26-24, 25-13, 25-18. If the ladies from Brigham Young are to keep their momentum rolling, plays like Wednesday need to be the standard.
Although not every rally will go for as long as the one against Houston, BYU will not lose if it continues to keep the ball in play like that. Its viral defensive effort was among the best of the year, and rivals a wild marathon rally from Nebraska earlier this month.
The Cougars face another tough test in the No. 18 Baylor Bears on Saturday. Perhaps there will be another rally to talk about next week? What an effort!