Mortensen, Little pace No. 24 Cougars to four-set win against Cyclones

The outside hitters combined for over half of BYU's offense in the victory at Iowa State.

Claire Little and No. 24 BYU women's volleyball hyped after a kill at Iowa State on Oct. 16, 2024Claire Little and No. 24 BYU women's volleyball hyped after a kill at Iowa State on Oct. 16, 2024
Sydney Vellinga, BYU

AMES, Iowa — Backed by 26 kills from outside hitters Elli Mortensen and Claire Little, No. 24 BYU women’s volleyball beat Iowa State in four sets (25-20, 19-25, 26-24, 25-15) at Hilton Coliseum on Wednesday night.

BOX SCORE

The Cougars (11-6, 4-3 Big 12) also received eight kills from Kjersti Strong, six by Brielle Kemavor and five from Kate Prior as Alex Bower picked up her eight double-double of the year, recording 35 assists and 13 digs.

Hannah Billeter tallied 13 digs of her own, while Lulu Uluave posted a career-high 20. Kemavor led the way with five total blocks, with Little recording four. Billeter, Uluave and Macy Short all had two aces each.

BYU hits .301 with just eight attack errors on the night compared to Iowa State’s .201, out-blocking the Cyclones, seven to two. ISU recorded four more digs (66 to 62) and aces (11 to seven) than the Cougars, but had 26 attack errors in the contest.

Set 1
Both teams traded points in the early going, but a 4-0 Iowa State run, including two service aces, had BYU call a timeout trailing 8-4. Kills by Mortensen, Kemavor, Little and Strong got the Cougars within one, at 16-15, Cyclones.

A pair of Mortensen kills tied the set at 17 before a Billeter ace put BYU ahead 18-17, forcing an ISU timeout.  Another Billeter ace, quick hitter for Strong and Little-Strong double block made it 22-18, and Iowa State took its second timeout.

A Bower dump kill and Little-Kemavor block gave BYU set point, and Little would convert off the block a play later, earning the Cougars a 25-20 opening set win.

Set 2
Facing a 3-0 deficit for the second-straight set, a trio of kills by Little tied the set at four. Iowa State took six of the next 10 points, however, to lead 11-7 as BYU took its first timeout.

The Cougars got a dump kill by Bower and tip kill from Strong, but found themselves down 15-10 and called their second timeout. A pair of 3-0 BYU runs had it within two, at 19-17, and the Cyclones called a timeout.

ISU reeled off four-straight coming out of the timeout, and would ultimately take the set to knot the match at one set apiece, 25-19.

Set 3
The Cougars found themselves trailing for a third set in a row before Bower’s third dump kill of the night was followed up by a quick hitter for Kemavor, tying the set at four. Three Kate Prior kills from the right side and a service ace by Short, her first of the season, paced BYU to a 15-12 advantage at the media timeout.

A 3-0 run by the Cougars was answered with three-straight from Iowa State, and BYU took a timeout leading 18-16. Two kills by Strong and another from Little made It 23-18, but a 6-0 Cyclone run, spanning the Cougars’ second timeout gave Iowa State set point at 24-23.

BYU responded with back-to-back Prior kills, one cross-court and the other through the block to earn its own set point, finishing it off with a Mortensen kill through the block, 26-24.

Set 4
A Kemavor kill and aces by both Little and Lulu Uluave helped the Cougars double up on the Cyclones at 8-4, but five in a row by ISU gave it a 9-8 lead, and BYU took its first timeout.

The Cougars scored three-straight to take an 11-9 advantage, remaining in front on kills by Mortensen and Little, and Short’s second ace, with ISU taking a timeout trailing 16-13.

With a quick hitter for Kemavor and a Prior-Kemavor block, the Cougars led 19-14, and forced Iowa State’s second timeout. A Kemavor-Mortensen double block capped off a 5-0 BYU run, and the Cougars would close the set on a 3-0 run, winning it on an Uluave ace, 25-15.

Up Next
BYU will return to Provo for a Top 25 matchup with Utah on Saturday, Oct. 19. The 7 p.m. MDT match will be streamed on ESPN+.