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BYU Women’s Volleyball takes down Duke in season opener

By Shaun Gordon

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 12: A general view of the centre court net prior to the VISA FIVB Beach Volleyball International at Horse Guards Parade on August 12, 2011 in London, England. (Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 12: A general view of the centre court net prior to the VISA FIVB Beach Volleyball International at Horse Guards Parade on August 12, 2011 in London, England. (Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images) /
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In their first match of the season, No. 8 BYU Women’s Volleyball swept Duke after overcoming a slow start in the first set.

BYU Women’s Volleyball lived up to their No. 8 national ranking, for one game at least.

The Cougars took down Duke in the opening match of the season, winning in straight sets at the home of the Blue Devils.

BYU won 25-22, 25-19, and 25-16. They started off slowly trailing by as much as six in the first set before finding a groove halfway through the set. After trailing 11-5, they went on a 14-4 run to take control and take the 1-0 set lead.

In both the second and third sets, Duke jumped out to small leads early, but never had the same shot to steal a set as they did in the first one.

The Cougars outplayed the Blue Devils in nearly every statistical category. They out hit Duke .287 to .133, and BYU had 45 kills, 48 digs, and 7 blocks.

McKenna Miller (Jr.) led all players with 14 kills, and Mary Lake (Jr.) doubled the next closest player in digs with 24.

BYU played a decently clean game, with only 12 hitting errors and 4 serving errors.

The Cougars are looking for their fifth straight West Coast Conference championship, and they’ll also look to reach the Sweet Sixteen for a sixth straight season when the NCAA Tournament rolls around.

The two teams will square off again on Saturday at 4:30pm MT. Fans can catch the game online with WatchESPN.

After that match, the Cougars will head home to host the BYU Nike Invitational from August 30th-September 1st. They’ll take on three teams in the invitational, including a match against No. 1 Stanford on August 31st.

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