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#4 BYU vs Florida

2018 NCAA Women’s Volleyball 3rd Round

By BYU

December 8^th, 2018

Regional Host

The No. 4 BYU Women's Volleyball team welcomed No. 5 Texas, Florida and Michigan to the Smith Fieldhouse for the NCAA Regionals.

Set 1

Florida (26-7) came out strong in the first set, taking a 5-0 lead that included two Gator kills. BYU fought back within one point of Florida’s lead, 9-8, off of a long rally ending in a Gator error. A dump kill by Haddock-Eppich and a block by Eschenberg and Jones-Perry got the team energized and tied the game up 15-15. However, the Cougars were unable to gain the lead, and Florida took the set, 25-23, off a Gator kill.

Set 2

BYU beat Florida to the punch and took the first lead of the second set, 2-0, off of a Jones-Perry kill. The Cougars followed this with a 5-2 run, putting the score at 10-6, and forced a Florida timeout. A block by Haddock and Eschenberg and kills by Robinson and Haddock added to a BYU 8-1 run, putting the score at 19-10. BYU maintained the lead and took the second set, 25-13, notching three more kills.

Set 3

BYU began set 3 with a kill by Eschenberg followed by her shared block with Haddock put the Cougars up, 7-3. Kills by Robinson and Gneiting paired with a Haddock-Eppich and Gneiting block ultimately led to another Cougar set win, 25-17.

Set 4

BYU again took an early lead with Jones-Perry contributing two kills and an ace to give the Cougars an 8-5 edge. BYU kept at least a two-point lead throughout the middle of the set, and a second Jones-Perry ace forced Florida to take a timeout at 18-12. BYU maintained the lead for the rest of the set and claimed the match, 25-19, with kills by Eschenberg and Haddock and a block by Haddock and Gneiting.

"I'm so proud of this team," BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. "They battled so hard tonight and played within themselves. The crowd was electric and we thank them for showing up. We are looking forward to keeping this journey going and playing tomorrow."

Elite 8

BYU (30-1) will now make its 11th appearance in the Elite Eight of the tourney and the first since 2014 when the Cougars finished national runners-up in the NCAA Championships. The Cougars return to the court against No. 5 seed Texas on Saturday, Dec. 8, at 6 p.m. MT in the Smith Fieldhouse. The game will be shown live on ESPNU with the winner advancing to the Final Four to be held in Minneapolis next week.

Footnotes

Photos by Jaren Wilkey and Rebekah Baker/BYU Photo

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FootNotes

Photos by Jaren Wilkey and Rebekah Baker/BYU Photo