If you were as busy as the Cougars and Wolverine’s were this weekend, chances are you didn’t catch all of the games. Here’s a quick recap of how it all went down.
BYU cross country secures title
The BYU men’s cross country team scored a perfect 15 and secured the championship title at the West Coast Conference Championships in California on Friday. It was the first perfect score in a championship meet in WCC Championship history.
“I’m super pleased with the way the guys ran,” BYU head coach Ed Eyestone said. “They maintained a relentless pace and it paid off. To perfect score the conference meet over the third-ranked team in the country shows that we should be considered a national championship caliber team.”
Running an 8K race, the No. 2 BYU team beat No. 3 Portland, No. 10 Gonzaga, No. 12 Santa Clara, No. 13 Loyola Marymount and No. 29 San Francisco. Connor McMillan (23:33.8) took first place followed closely by his teammates Daniel Carney (23:28.9), Casey Clinger (23:29.0), Rory Linkletter (23:29.0) and Clayton Young (23:29.1).
The Cougars are now champions for the third straight year. The women’s team also did well, finishing in second place with 52 points in a 6K race behind No. 4 San Francisco. This is the third straight year the women finished in second place.
The cross country team will next compete in the NCAA Mountain Region meet on Nov. 10.
The @BYUTFXC Men’s team finishes 1,2,3,4,5 for the perfect team score en route to the WCC Championship. #GoCougs #BYUTFXC pic.twitter.com/gYmZWcA7pg
— BYU Cougars Video (@BYU_Video) October 27, 2017
BYU football snaps seven-game losing streak
The BYU football team beat San José State 41–20 on Saturday to snap a seven-game losing streak. The Cougars moved to 2–7 overall with the victory.
“Our guys played hard, and I’m pleased we got a win,” BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said. “I thought we took advantage of our strength up front on both sides. It was nice to get a lead and not have to play from behind.”
The Cougars never trailed in the game, they took an early 14–0 lead and never looked back. On defense, BYU didn’t allow a Spartan touchdown until midway through the fourth quarter.
Mangum went 18 for 34 with 283 yards and three touchdowns in the game. KJ Hall rushed for 112 yards including a 75-yard rushing touchdown. He also caught three passes for 44 yards.
The BYU defense forced four turnovers. Defensive back Michael Shelton recorded an interception while defensive backs Zayne Anderson and Austin Lee and defensive lineman Langi Tuifua all recovered fumbles. Brayden El-Bakri also recorded a fumble on special teams.
The Cougars will look to make it two wins in a row as they travel to California to take on Fresno State on Saturday, Nov. 4.
BYU volleyball falls at home
The No. 8 BYU volleyball team lost to No. 18 San Diego in four sets on Friday night (25–21, 23–25, 25–22, 25–16). With just their second loss of the season, the Cougars moved to 21–2 on the year and 10–1 in conference play. The loss was BYU’s first suffered at home this year and ended a 13-game win streak.
Senior opposite hitter Cosy Burnett had 15 kills in the match while junior outside hitter Veronica Jones-Perry added 14 kills of her own. Sophomore outside hitter McKenna Miller contributed with 13 kills in the loss.
“San Diego played a great match,” BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. “I thought we were trying to do the right things on our side, but our execution just wasn’t there. I loved the swings that Cosy (Burnett) and Kennedy (Redding) took. We have to find the positives from this match and keep getting better.”
BYU and San Diego are now tied for first place in the WCC. The Cougars will look to bounce back this week with two home games. They face Pacific on Thursday, Nov. 2 and then Saint Mary’s on Saturday, Nov. 4.
Did you get an invite? @BYUwvolleyball is throwing a block party tonight.
(via @byutvsports) #NCAAVB 🏐 pic.twitter.com/viRI2NQ7LC
— NCAA Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) October 28, 2017
BYU soccer earns seventh win
After beating Gonzaga 6–3 on Thursday, the BYU women’s soccer team took a 1–0 victory over Portland on Saturday night.
Sophomore forward Elise Flake scored the lone goal of the match in the 68th minute. As a team, the Cougars outshot their opponent 13–8.
“I loved the way we came out,” BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “We had a great first half and were a bit unfortunate, but what a move Elise made to put the ball in the back of the net. They are having fun and working hard and we want to finish the season strong.”
The Cougars improve to 7–6–4 overall and 4–2–1 in conference play. BYU now heads into their final week of the regular season. They face San Francisco on Thursday, Nov. 2 and will finish with Santa Clara on Saturday.
UVU volleyball dominates Grand Canyon
The UVU volleyball team swept Grand Canyon University on Saturday (25–19, 25–17, 25–18) and improved to 12–13 overall and 7–3 in conference play.
Senior middle blocker Madison Dennison recorded a match-high 15 kills and seven blocks. Senior middle blocker Brighton Taylor also contributed seven blocks and sophomore right side hitter Izzie Hinton had six of her own. Junior outside hitter Alexis Davies contributed with 12 kills while senior setter Sierra Starley earned a match-high with 36 assists. Senior outside hitter Lexi Thompson also had a match-high with 13 digs. As a whole, the team recorded a season-high .402 attack percentage.
“You’ve got to be happy anytime you hit over .400,” UVU head coach Sam Atoa said. “We’re ecstatic, and I was pleased that we were able to take control in both the middle as well as on the ends. I’m very pleased with our offensive performance today.”
The victory moved the Wolverines into a WAC second place tie with UT Rio Grande Valley. In a big week, the team will face first place New Mexico State on Thursday, Nov. 2 and then UT Rio Grande Valley on Saturday.
UVU women’s soccer falls in final game
The UVU women’s soccer team lost their final game of the regular season 2–0 to Seattle University on Saturday night.
The loss ends a five-game win streak and drops the Wolverines to 9–11 overall and 5–2 in conference play.
“Seattle was very organized and disciplined tonight,” UVU head coach Chris Lemay said. “Their counter attack was very good. They capitalized on our turnovers. We had a couple of really good chances but at the end of the day, they capitalized and we didn’t.”
Having secured a first-round bye in the WAC Tournament, the Wolverines will face the winner of the quarterfinal match between UTRGV and Grand Canyon. The semifinals will take place on Friday, Nov. 3.
UVU men’s soccer splits weekend games
The UVU men’s soccer team moved to 6–9–2 on the year and 3–4–2 in conference play as they split two games over the weekend.
The Wolverines first beat UNLV 3–2 on Friday thanks to goals by sophomore Blake Frischknecht and seniors Karson Payton and Paul Hoffmeister. They then lost to Grand Canyon University 3–2 in a tough overtime loss on Sunday night.
Payton recorded another goal against Grand Canyon to give UVU the early lead but the Wolverines found themselves down 2–1 late in the match. Senior Chandler Baddley tied the game in the 90th minute to force overtime but in the end it was the Lopes who scored the winning goal.
“The end result is difficult to accept, but I couldn’t be more proud of this team and their commitment to the bitter end to find the equalizer and send the match into overtime,” UVU head coach Greg Maas said. “We must now put the result behind us and change our focus as we prepare for Seattle at home on senior night with a WAC Tournament berth in the balance.”
UVU will wrap up the regular season on their home field on Saturday, Nov. 4 against Seattle University to try to earn a spot in the WAC Tournament next week.
Here’s a look at Chandler Baddley’s equalizer that forced overtime on Sunday night at GCU. #WACmsoc #GoUVU pic.twitter.com/LqM7nVdCvM
— UVU Men’s Soccer (@UVUmsoc) October 30, 2017