No. 24 BYU left Fort Myers at 2-0 because its second match looked nothing like its first one. That may be the best result of the weekend.
A day after digging out of an 0-2 hole against Florida State, the Cougars beat host Florida Gulf Coast 25-17, 23-25, 25-15, 25-21 on Saturday. Elli Mortensen supplied 14 kills and four aces. Alex Bower and Kaylie Kofe recorded 24 assists apiece. Kelli Jo Burgess finished with nine kills and eight blocks as BYU reached 13 team blocks.
The final was 3-1, but the shape behind it was more revealing. BYU did not need Claire Little Chambers to cover every phase. It kept its two-setter plan after dropping a winnable second set, and one blown lead did not become another five-set rescue.
This was a steadier win, with one warning left in plain sight.
BYU-FGCU score and match receipt
| Match item | Official mark | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Final | BYU 3, FGCU 1 | BYU closes the weekend 2-0 |
| Set scores | 25-17, 23-25, 25-15, 25-21 | BYU answers the second-set loss without a fifth |
| BYU blocks | 13 | Second straight match in double figures |
| BYU attack leader | Elli Mortensen, 14 kills | Her first double-digit match since 2024 |
| BYU setter assists | Bower 24, Kofe 24 | The shared system stays almost perfectly even |
BYU’s official schedule and FGCU’s official schedule independently record the 3-1 result and the same four set scores. The match took place at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, closing BYU’s two-match stay at the FGCU Invitational.
Mortensen’s line deserves the headline. Her 14 kills were her first double-digit total since 2024, according to BYU Athletics, and her four aces tied a career high. She finished one dig short of a double-double.
That is more than a fun return to an old threshold. BYU’s opening-weekend guide entered the tournament with Claire Little Chambers and Sophia Callahan as the clearest proven outside answers. Little Chambers then carried the broadest line in Friday’s reverse sweep of Florida State: 12 kills, nine digs, three aces and six block assists.
Saturday moved some of that burden. Mortensen led the attack, Callahan added 10 kills on .300 hitting and Burgess gave BYU nine kills from the middle. Six Cougars finished with at least seven kills. Balance can be empty box-score decoration, but not when a different outside hitter leads on the second day of a back-to-back and the offense still survives a bad set.
The 13 blocks kept a bad rotation from owning the match
Friday’s comeback included 10 blocks. Saturday brought 13 more, BYU’s highest total since it posted 14.5 at Utah Valley last season.
That gives the Cougars 23 team blocks across their first two regular-season matches. BYU reached double figures in blocks nine times during the entire 2025 season, according to the school. Two straight does not promise a season-long wall, but it gives Rob Neilson a real opening identity to test when No. 4 Pittsburgh visits Provo.
The block work also arrived early enough to control the match. BYU recorded six blocks in the first set alone. Mortensen took part in two double blocks while scoring five kills, and Brooke Hardy combined with Callahan before joining Kate Prior on the set-ending block.
Burgess made the pressure repeatable. Her eight blocks tied the match high cited by BYU, and the Cougars used a triple block plus a Burgess solo stuff during a 6-0 third-set run. BYU turned a 5-5 set into a 17-7 lead and never gave FGCU a path back.
The second set showed exactly what happens when BYU loses control of one scoring lane.
The Cougars led 19-13 after a Callahan kill and three FGCU errors. The Eagles then closed on a 12-4 run. BYU briefly tied the set at 23 on a Burgess quick hitter, but FGCU took the last two points.
It was the weekend’s second ugly run, following Florida State’s 20-5 opening burst on Friday. BYU recovered from both. It should not treat recovery as the plan.
The encouraging difference came one set later. Rather than requiring a lineup overhaul, BYU returned to its block, built a 10-point margin and won 25-15. The Cougars absorbed evidence that their side-out game had stalled without turning the whole match into an emergency.
Bower and Kofe produced an exact split again
The two-setter question is no longer theoretical. It is also nowhere near settled.
Against Florida State, Kofe had 21 assists and Bower had 20. Against FGCU, each setter had 24. Across the opening weekend, the pair accounted for 89 assists, with a 45-44 edge to Kofe.
| Opening weekend setter split | Florida State | FGCU | Two-match total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaylie Kofe assists | 21 | 24 | 45 |
| Alex Bower assists | 20 | 24 | 44 |
| Combined | 41 | 48 | 89 |
That one-assist gap does not settle a competition. It shows that Neilson is willing to keep both setters central when matches get strange.
Friday tested whether the arrangement could survive a two-set collapse. Saturday tested whether it could survive a squandered six-point lead. BYU kept spreading the ball, and six hitters reached seven kills.
Now the shared system has to create the same variety against a top-four opponent without becoming predictable by rotation. Pittsburgh will bring a different level of scouting and front-row pressure than BYU saw in Fort Myers. An even assist total will matter less than whether each setter can find a clean answer when the first pass drifts off the net.
For now, the two-setter plan has two wins and two different kinds of stress behind it. That is a better receipt than an exhibition split.
The fourth set was the mature part
BYU trailed 15-13 at the fourth-set technical timeout after FGCU used a 5-1 run to move in front. A repeat of the second-set slide was available.
BYU stopped it this time.
Callahan helped power a 3-0 response. Mortensen finished a long rally for a 19-17 lead, and Hardy plus Little Chambers forced FGCU’s final timeout at 22-19. Little Chambers and Burgess supplied the last three BYU kills.
From 15-13 down, the Cougars finished on a 12-6 run. That is the match’s cleanest piece of progress. They had already seen FGCU erase a 19-13 deficit, then faced another late-set hole and closed without needing a fifth.
BYU comes home for Eastern Illinois on Thursday, Sept. 3, at 6:30 p.m. Mountain, followed by No. 4 Pittsburgh at the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday, Sept. 4, at 6:30 p.m. Both listings are on the official volleyball schedule.
Eastern Illinois is the next match. Pittsburgh is the early measuring stick. Before either one, BYU has a clear opening file: Mortensen can lead a real match, Bower and Kofe can share the offense through stress, and Burgess anchors a block that has reached double figures twice.
The loose thread is just as clear. BYU has allowed a 20-5 run and a 12-4 set finish in consecutive matches. The balance and the block can travel. Those disappearing rotations cannot.
That would turn a 2-0 Florida weekend into something more useful than two August wins.
Sources and further reading
- BYU Athletics, Aug. 29: Mortensen pushes No. 24 BYU to four-set win at FGCU for the official result, set account, player lines, 13-block total, setter split and upcoming home matches.
- FGCU Athletics: 2026 volleyball schedule for independent confirmation of FGCU game 15178, the 3-1 result, 25-17/23-25/25-15/25-21 set scores and Alico Arena listing.
- BYU Athletics, Aug. 28: No. 24 Cougars reverse sweep Florida State for Friday’s player totals, 10 blocks and Bower-Kofe assist split used in the two-match comparison.
- BYU Sport Nuts: volleyball hub, roster, schedule, opening-weekend guide and Florida State recap.
