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PROVO — To prove that numbers don't always tell the story, BYU women's volleyball was 0-5 when Claire Little totaled 20 or more kills in 2024.
BYU's top outside hitter has excelled in her sophomore season, but the pin hitter could only do so much in losses to Georgia Tech, San Diego, Arizona, TCU and — most recently — Arizona State.
That wasn't the case Saturday, though.
Little poured in 20 kills with nine digs, and freshman Elli Mortensen added 10 kills as No. 20 BYU bounced back from a five-set loss earlier in the week to sweep Arizona 26-24, 25-22, 25-20 in front of 3,415 fans at the Smith Fieldhouse.
Kjersti Strong added seven kills and four digs, and Alex Bower dished out 36 assists with nine digs for the Cougars (14-7, 7-4 Big 12) in their first home win over a team from the state of Arizona since 1990.
"We've been super centered on just being us, focused on the team, and doing what I can do," Little said after the match. "If that's 20 kills, that's great. If it's passing, that's great. … But this team is doing great. They're support is all that matters."
Lulu Uluave had 14 digs with seven assists for BYU, and Hannah Billeter added 12 digs for the Cougars.
Jordan Wilson poured in 18 kills and nine digs to lead Arizona, which got 11 kills and nine digs from Carlie Cisneros and 34 assists from Avery Scoggins.
BYU, which leads the Big 12 in total blocks and blocks per set, overcame just two blocks to take a 2-0 lead by hitting .337 from the pins.
good day to be a Coug💙 pic.twitter.com/WYlz7nvHjm
— BYU Women's Volleyball (@BYUwvolleyball) November 2, 2024
That included trailing as late as 23-22 before rallying for a 26-24 win in the first set, and ending the second set on a 4-0 spurt for a 25-22 victory.
In her first action in nearly a month, Mia Lee came off the bench to pace a 3-0 run that put the Cougars in front 14-13 in the third set.
Little capped a 6-0 run with three consecutive kills to stretch BYU's edge to 22-18, and Lee had the Cougars' third block of the match to help the Cougars finish the match on a 9-2 run to avenge a five-set loss Oct. 2 at Arizona.
"I think this team is different," Little said. "We've just been grinding in the gym."
BYU travels to No. 22 Utah for a rivalry match Friday (7 p.m. MST, ESPN+) on the night before the rivalry football game at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
The two teams split the first two sets of their Nov. 8 meeting in Provo before BYU won in five sets.
