BYU Volleyball Starts 10-1 in Rob Neilson's First Season, Riding Seven Straight Wins

BYU women's volleyball has won seven straight matches and is 10-1, 2-0 in the Big 12, after a 27-25, 25-18, 24-26, 25-18 win at Kansas State on October 1, 2026. The only loss on the Cougars' official schedule is a four-set defeat to No. 2 Pittsburgh at Smith Fieldhouse on September 4. BYU's schedule listed the Cougars at No. 18 for the Kansas State match, up from No. 24 for the season opener.

This is Rob Neilson's first season in Provo. BYU hired him in December 2025 after he had been Utah State's head coach since 2020, according to BYU's recap of the September 19 match against the Aggies. The Cougars are 5-1 at home, 4-0 on the road and 1-0 at a neutral site.

Elli Mortensen's breakout week

Junior outside hitter Elli Mortensen, from Draper and Corner Canyon High School, set career highs in both of BYU's opening Big 12 matches. Against No. 17 Baylor on September 25 she had 17 kills and a career-high 14 digs for the first double-double of her career. Six days later at Kansas State she set a career high with 19 kills on .630 hitting and added 12 digs for a second straight double-double.

That week built on a strong September. Mortensen led BYU with 16 kills in the five-set win over UCLA on September 11, and she put down 10 kills on .692 hitting in the sweep at Weber State on September 17.

Claire Little Chambers reached 1,000 kills

Senior outside hitter Claire Little Chambers, from Temecula, California, recorded the 1,000th kill of her career in the third set against UCLA. BYU's recap said she became the 24th Cougar to reach the mark and the 10th in the rally-scoring era. She finished that night with 13 kills and 13 digs.

Her other big nights include 17 kills and 11 digs against Pittsburgh, a team-high 21 kills against Baylor, 14 kills on .429 hitting against Utah State and 13 kills at Kansas State.

A net built around Kelli Jo Burgess

Senior middle blocker Kelli Jo Burgess, a Lehi native who previously played at Oklahoma, anchors the defense at the net. She sent back 10 total blocks against UCLA, seven against Baylor and a match-high 10 at Kansas State, where BYU's 14 team blocks were a season high.

Freshman middle blocker Brooke Hardy, from Fruitland, Idaho, has given that front row a second weapon. Against Baylor she had a career-high 11 kills and six aces, which BYU's recap called the most by a freshman in the program's rally-scoring era. Senior outside hitter Sophia Callahan, from Encinitas, California, rounds out the attack: she had 13 kills at Kansas State and 11 kills on .647 hitting against Utah State, when she also tied her career high with six blocks.

The setting duties are shared. Junior Alex Bower and junior Kaylie Kofe, who came to BYU from Utah State, each recorded 25 assists at Kansas State. Junior libero Lulu Po'uha added 20 digs that night.

The road to 10-1

BYU opened at the FGCU Invitational in Fort Myers, Florida, where it lost the first two sets to Florida State on August 28 and won the next three. The Cougars beat Florida Gulf Coast in four sets the next day, then swept Eastern Illinois in their home opener on September 3.

After the Pittsburgh loss, BYU swept Boise State at ExtraMile Arena on September 8 while hitting .400, and beat UCLA in five sets at home three days later.

Then came three in-state opponents in five days. BYU swept Utah Valley on September 15 while hitting .520, which its recap called the program's fourth-highest mark in a rally-scoring era match. Two nights later it swept Weber State at Swenson Gym in Ogden behind a career-high 12 kills from sophomore opposite hitter Anna Blamires. On September 19 it swept Utah State, Neilson's former program, before a packed Smith Fieldhouse to close non-conference play.

The Big 12 opener against Baylor went the distance. BYU won the first two sets, Baylor took the next two, and the Cougars won the fifth 15-10. Four BYU hitters reached double figures in kills for the first time this season: Little Chambers, Mortensen, Hardy and Callahan.

What comes next

BYU plays at No. 19 Kansas in Lawrence on Friday, October 2, at 5 p.m. MDT on ESPN+. The Cougars then visit Houston on October 8 and host West Virginia at Smith Fieldhouse on October 10.

On October 15 they travel to Salt Lake City to face Utah at the Huntsman Center at 7 p.m. MDT, BYU's first Big 12 match of the season against an in-state opponent. A trip to Arizona follows on October 17, then a home match against No. 21 Colorado on October 22.

Today's Utah college and pro fixtures are on the statewide slate. Follow BYU's season on the BYU women's volleyball team page, see the rest of the BYU athletics hub, and find Utah's other women's teams in the Utah women's college sports index.

Key facts:

• Record: 10-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big 12, with seven straight wins, per BYU's schedule on October 2, 2026.
• Head coach: Rob Neilson, in his first season at BYU after coaching Utah State from 2020.
• Latest result: won 3-1 at Kansas State on October 1; Elli Mortensen (Draper, Utah) had a career-high 19 kills and Kelli Jo Burgess (Lehi, Utah) 10 blocks.
• Only loss: 3-1 to No. 2 Pittsburgh at Smith Fieldhouse on September 4.
• Milestone: Claire Little Chambers recorded her 1,000th career kill against UCLA on September 11.
• In-state sweeps: Utah Valley (Sept. 15), Weber State (Sept. 17) and Utah State (Sept. 19).
• Next: at No. 19 Kansas on October 2 at 5 p.m. MDT; at Utah on October 15 at 7 p.m. MDT.