No. 24 BYU women's volleyball falls to No. 2 Pittsburgh
By Carly Ludlow,
September 5, 2026
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In front of 5,073 fans, BYU women’s volleyball got its first look at a packed Smith Fieldhouse to open the 2026 home season.For the second consecutive night, the Cougars played their first two home matches of the season.After sweeping Eastern Illinois in Thursday night’s home opener, BYU fell to No. 2 Pittsburgh on Friday, 3-1.The Cougars came out strong, battling the Panthers through two tightly contested sets. BYU dropped the first set 25-23 before responding with a 26-24 victory in the second.In the opening set, BYU recorded 20 kills, led by Claire Little Chambers with five. Kate Prior added four kills as the Cougars kept pace with the Panthers throughout the set.
The teams traded momentum early, with the score tied 14 times and seven lead changes. With the set tied at 23-23, Pittsburgh closed it out with back-to-back kills to take the opening set.BYU carried its momentum into the second set, matching the Panthers point for point.The Cougars added 15 kills in the set while also making an impact defensively. Lulu Po’uha recorded six digs, while Po’uha and Elli Mortensen each contributed a service ace.Kelli Jo Burgess also helped BYU gain an advantage with an overpass kill. The Cougars ultimately secured the set with consecutive kills from Prior, evening the match at one set apiece.Pittsburgh opened the third set with a 3-0 lead and continued to pull away. The Panthers extended their advantage to 8-3 as BYU struggled to get back into the set. Pittsburgh maintained control for the remainder of the set, which featured no lead changes.BYU continued to battle defensively, with Brooke Hardy recording an ace and the Cougars adding four blocks to bring their match total to 9.5.
The Cougars entered the fourth set looking to extend the match. BYU continued to fight, but Pittsburgh maintained control and closed out the set 25-20 to win the match 3-1.Despite the loss, the Cougars finished with 55 kills and a .240 hitting percentage. Little Chambers led BYU with 17 kills, while Prior added nine. BYU also recorded 9.5 total blocks.After the game, BYU coach Rob Neilson said the challenging early-season schedule is giving the Cougars opportunities to learn how to compete in different environments and against different playing styles.“You wanna figure out what we do against a team that can pressure us in a lot of different ways,” he said. “And [the schedule] certainly does that. It’s fun to see us in where we are great and then it’s fun to get exposed … Now we get to learn and grow throughout the rest of the season.”The Cougars will have another opportunity to improve when they visit Boise State on Tuesday.
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