The women’s volleyball team has always been good, they have made appearances in 32 of the 39 NCAA Women’s volleyball tournaments. There’s been a women’s volleyball team at BYU for 52 years. There have been 6 coaches and tons of players. BYU’s most recent season was awesome just like many before it. BYU received the No. 16 seed at the beginning of the season. They opened the 2020 NCAA tournament by beating UCLA. They finished among the top teams and won the West Coast Conference title. They ended the season winning 17-2 and a No. 15 seed.
Last Seasons Best
Every season BYU has amazing players and this season was no different. Their top blocker Kennedy Eschenberg is an American middle blocker. She ended the season with No. 6 in the NCAA division. She had an average of 1.58 blocks per set and a .435 hitting percentage. Kennedy got 135 kills and led the team with 82 blocks. Their top setter, Whitney Bower was named the WCC player and setter of the year. Whitney ended the season with 676 assists, 221 digs, 48 kills, 28 blocks, and 22 aces. Their top outside hitter, Ballard Nixon was a key contributor to the cougar’s success. She got 239 kills, 133 digs, 15 aces, and 38 blocks. Their coach for the 2020-2021 season Olmstead was WCC coach of the year and the AVCA Pacific South Region Coach of the Year. She holds the highest winning percentage of any women’s volleyball coach. She reached 100 wins in 101 games.
This Season
BYU’s 2021-2022 season has been just as good as the many others. There team consists of 19 players, Taylen Ballard, Heather Gneiting, Morgan Bower, Kenzie Koerber, Bri Albright, Zanya Meyer, Whitney Bower,
Taylen Hifo, Alyssa Montoya, Erin Livingston, Abbey Dayton, Kate Grimmer, Aria Mccomber, Elyse Stowell, Madi
Allen, Whitney Llarenas, Sophia Callahan, Kennedy Eschenburg, and Gretchen Reinert. BYU is ranked a No. 11 seed. In their most recent game, they beat Saint Marys, winning every set. Koerber led the team with 16 kills, and the middle blockers Eschenberg and Gneiting both got 8 as well. Their next game is on the 30 against Saint Clara. Their next home game will be on October 7 against Portland. BYU hopes to continue winning and hopefully earn a higher seed.
Volleyball History
BYU has been keeping a record on women’s volleyball for 50 years, from then to 2018 they have won 1,281 games. The BYU Cougars first made it to the NCAA Sweet 16 1981 and since then have returned 31 times. BYU’s women’s volleyball team was the first volleyball team to be in the NCAA final four in 1993. They have had 2 players move on and play in the Olympics. Charlene Johnsen after playing for BYU went to the Utah Predators out of college as the starting setter. She played 2 years of professional volleyball in Switzerland and Italy. She competed in the 2000 Olympics and after that served as the assistant coach in Nebraska. Mary Lake played for BYU as a libero, and she is set to go to the 2020 summer Olympics. Mary Lake was named the 2019-20 West Coast Conference female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She was also named WCC Defensive Player of the Year and to the All-WCC First Team. She started every game and led the team to a No. 1 ranking. When she was a freshman she broke the school record with 546 digs. And this summer Marly Lake is just one of the 2 liberos on the U.S national volleyball team.
Sources: https://universe.byu.edu/2019/10/07/50-facts-for-50-years-of-making-womens-volleyball-history/
https://byucougars.com/home/w-volleyball
http://www.seniorclassaward.com/athletes/mary_lake/
