Benson tallies 17 kills in opening night sweep

PROVO, Utah  — Outside hitter Luke Benson fueled No. 9 BYU men's volleyball to a 3-0 sweep of No. 11 Ball State (25-19, 25-21, 25-20) in its season opener at the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday night.

The Cougars (1-0, 0-0 MPSF) finished with a .321 hitting percentage for the match, led by Benson's 17 kills on a career-high .762 clip. Fellow outside Miks Ramanis had eight kills, while middle blocker Ethan Gant posted a career-high two kills.

Setter Noa Haine dished out 30 assists to go along with three kills, with Benson tallying a team-high seven digs and middle blocker Teon Taylor leading the way recording three total blocks.

Set One
A pair of Benson kills paced BYU in the early going, with the sophomore's third kill of the night snapping a 3-0 Ball State run and tying the match at seven. Taylor landed a quick hitter that kickstarted a 3-0 Cougar run which featured a triple block and Ramanis ace, forcing a Cardinal timeout with BYU ahead 11-8.

Battling from there, the Cougars reeled off another three-straight that spanned Ball State's second timeout and was fueled by a Ramanis solo stuff and a Haine joust kill. After an ace by Haine, the Cougars were up 20-14. A trio of BSU errors gave BYU set point, and the Cougars closed it out on Benson's sixth kill of the frame, 25-19.

Set Two
With two kills each from Trent Moser and Benson, BYU led 7-3. Another Benson kill and one from Ramanis had the Cougars in front 9-5, and Ball State called timeout. A back row kills by Moser and two more from Ramanis, one off the block and another down the line, made it 12-8.

The Cardinals took seven of the next 11 points to draw within one, forcing a BYU timeout at 16-15. Haine swung away for a kill before the Cougars got a quick hitter for Taylor and another Benson kill to lead 21-19 and force Ball State's second timeout. Trading sets of errors, Ramanis downed his fifth kill of the contest to earn a 25-20 second set win.

Set Three
After six combined errors to open the final frame, BYU took four of the next five points on a pair of Gant kills and a Kupono Browne ace, forcing a Cardinal timeout ahead 8-3. Ball State went on two separate 3-0 runs to tie the set at nine.

Trading points from there, the Cougars went on a 3-0 run with Browne's second ace sandiwched by two more Benson kills for a 15-12 advantage. A pair of Ramanis kills put BYU in front 19-14, and Ball State called its second timeout.

A quick 3-0 run by the Cardinals had them within two, and the Cougars took a timeout. Benson scored out of the back row before dropping two crosscourt kills from the left side to give BYU match point, which Haine finished off with an overpass kill for a 25-21 victory. 

Up Next
BYU and Ball State will face off a second time on Saturday night, with first serve set for 7 p.m. MST. The match will be televised on BYUtv and byutv.org.