BYU didn’t need a full deck Tuesday night to handle Utah Valley.
Even without a couple of key pieces, the No. 24 Cougars were in control from the opening whistle, leaning on a deep middle-blocking group and a sharp offensive night to sweep the Wolverines 25-11, 25-9, 25-16 at the Smith Fieldhouse.
Elli Mortensen and Claire Little Chambers finished with nine kills apiece, while freshman Brooke Hardy turned in the kind of all-around performance that makes a team’s depth look unfair: six kills, a career-high six blocks, five digs and two aces. Kaylie Kofe added 18 assists and five digs, and Alex Bower chipped in 14 assists as BYU moved to 6-1.
The Cougars’ numbers told the story. BYU hit a season-best .520 and held Utah Valley to .044, while piling up nine blocks to smother any chance the Wolverines had of finding rhythm. That came four days after a five-set win over UCLA and with reigning Big 12 defensive player of the week KJ Burgess sitting out alongside All-American middle blocker Brielle Kemavor.
Hardy was at the center of it all.
“All of our middles are so amazing,” Hardy said of the Cougars’ block, which also got five touches from opposite Kate Prior and three from Pitt transfer Rachel Jepsen. “I was overwhelmed with the talent that we have.
Every middle on our roster is an elite athlete, and so competitive. It’s so fun, especially in practice when we get to compete against a bunch of players who are crazy good.”
BYU set the tone immediately. The Cougars put up four blocks in the first set, including three block touches from Hardy, and rolled to a 25-11 win. Chambers had four kills, Kylie Buttars added three, and Utah Valley was held to .000 in the frame after seven kills and seven hitting errors.
The second set was even more lopsided. Mortensen’s ace finished off a 10-2 burst that stretched the lead to 19-6, and BYU cruised from there to a 25-9 win.
Utah Valley got nine kills and two blocks from Brielle Rueckert, while Evalyn Medaris posted 19 assists and five digs. The match lasted 1 hour, 19 minutes.
What stood out most for BYU, though, was the middle of the floor. Hardy, a freshman from Fruitland, Idaho, has become part of a group that first-year coach Rob Neilson sees as a major strength. Neilson tried to recruit her at his previous stop at Utah State, and he said the way she and Jepsen have developed has changed the outlook of the position.
“You don’t expect a freshman (like Hardy) to be that far along, and you don’t expect a returned missionary (like Jepson) to be that far along,” Neilson said. “Mia Lee was our middle in the spring, too, and when she ended up transferring, I wondered where are we going to be.
“Then obviously we got KJ, Brooke came back in the fall at another level, and Rachel came back at another level. They’ve been pushing each other … I went from waking up at 3 a.m. thinking about our middles to that being a position of strength for us.”
With Hardy in the mix and Kemavor on the way back to full health, BYU now has five players deep in the middle, maybe more. That kind of luxury is rare in college volleyball, and Neilson said the Cougars are benefiting from it.
“It’s always been a strength of BYU, to have good middle-blocker play,” Neilson said. “It’s a luxury, and we’re grateful to have it because it’s not common.
Usually you’re falling off quite a bit after three or four. But man, we’ve got some kids that can play.”
BYU now heads to Weber State on Thursday at 6 p.m. MT on ESPN+, before returning home to host Utah State on Saturday afternoon.
In Other News...
Kalani Sitake Earns National Recognition That BYU Fans Will Love
Kalani Sitakes reputation at BYU has long extended beyond the sideline, and now its getting national recognition. Allstate and the American Football Coaches Association named Sitake to the 2026 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, putting the Cougars head coach alongside 22 student-athletes honored for service, academic achievement and athletic excellence.
Sitake, now in his 11th season leading BYU, was recognized for the kind of community-driven work that has helped define his program, including the Built4Life initiative and a range of local and international efforts. The group as a whole logged more than 12,000 volunteer hours and raised over $100,000 for charitable causes, another reminder that some of the biggest wins around college football happen well away from the field. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Moved The Ball Just Fine But One Problem Kept Showing Up
BYU moved the ball well enough against Arizona to keep finding scoring chances, but the offense never quite settled in the way it wanted. The Cougars had 10 drives and 9 real chances to put points on the board, yet the rhythm kept getting interrupted as penalties, especially holding calls, cut into momentum and forced the unit into tougher downs and distances.
Arizona added to the problem by bringing pressure and blitzing at key moments, which helped squeeze some of BYUs cleaner-looking possessions into empty trips. A few specific plays and decisions also fed into the stalls, leaving the Cougars with an offense that generated movement but not enough consistency to turn it into points when it mattered most. [Read more 🡒]
BYU's Arizona Win Carried One Extra Twist Cougars Fans Will Love
BYUs 28-17 win over Arizona in Big 12 play had the usual weight of a conference result, but it also carried a little extra edge for Cougars fans. Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita put together a solid afternoon, throwing for 230 yards and adding 38 on the ground, yet the matchup still ended with BYU controlling the result and adding another note to a growing rivalry feel.
For Arizona, the loss came with an awkward footnote: Fifita finished his career 0-3 against BYU. And even after the game, Wildcats coach Brent Brennan had BYU on his mind, urging Arizona fans to try to recreate the kind of atmosphere the Cougars brought for their upcoming game against Northern Illinois. [Read more 🡒]