No. 5 BYU defeats No. 6 Ball State again in five, sweeping the Cardinals to reach 6-0

The No. 5 BYU men’s volleyball team took down No. 6 Ball State 3-2 (22-25, 26-24, 22-25, 25-17, 15-9) for the second straight night in Worthen Arena on Friday evening, sweeping the Cardinals and improving to 6-0 on the season. The pair of senior outside hitters Keoni Thiim and Luke Benson both earned season highs in kills, with 23 apiece.

"There was a lot of heart, grit and determination," said BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead. "It was an unbelievable job by our team. I can't handle too many of those, but they stayed in it. Keoni carried an unbelievable load and did a phenomenal job. Down the stretch, others made plays too. Luke Benson made big plays and Teilon served well for us to get that cushion. Our block got the blocks we needed. It was a long one, but this is what you want at the start of the year. Ball State is a wonderful program with a great environment and coach, so credit to them."

Benson led the match in digs with 11. Setter Tyler Herget registered a season-high of 53 assists, adding 10 digs.

The Cougars finished with a .317 hitting percentage, while the Ball State Cardinals hit at .259. It was an even match as BYU nearly outhit the Cardinals with 65 kills compared to Ball State's 63. BYU registered 11 blocks to Ball State's 10.

This is BYU's best start to a season since 2020 when the Cougars won their first 16 matches in a row.

Set One

Opposite Ian Little and middle blocker Niko Hales teamed up for a block to give BYU a 5-3 lead. Ball State later went on a 3-0 run to take a lead at 11-9. Little earned a kill off the hands of Ball State’s blockers to tie the score at 13.

A back-to-back kill and ace by Thiim urged Ball State to call a timeout when BYU led 19-18. It was Thiim’s first ace of the series. Following a BYU timeout, the Cougars committed a net violation, giving Ball State a two-point edge at 21-19. 

A few missed passes from BYU would extend Ball State’s lead to 24-21, causing a BYU timeout at the first set point. Immediately following, Benson registered a kill in the corner of the hardwood for a 24-22 score, leading to a Ball State timeout. Ball State would eventually take set one 25-22 off a kill, with the Cardinals taking a 1-0 lead.

Set Two

After battling through seven ties, the Cougars pulled ahead by three points at 14-11 off a kill by Little. A sixth kill by Thiim gave BYU a 15-13 lead, heading into the media timeout. BYU would then call a timeout when leading by one at 17-16 after a Cardinal kill.

The Cougars maintained a small lead at 21-19 courtesy of a Benson kill, his ninth of the evening, and BYU would take a timeout. Another timeout took place after Ball State produced a 3-0 run, with the Cardinals now leading 23-22. 

A BYU block gave the Cougars their first set point of the evening at 25-24, with a BSU attack error ending the second set at 26-24 for a 1-1 tie.

Set Three

Back-to-back kills from BYU’s pins Thiim and Benson gave the Cougars an early 6-4 lead in set three. Neither team would break past a two-point lead until Ball State went on a 4-0 run to reach a 17-14 lead, forcing a BYU timeout.

The Cardinals capitalized off their run, and would extend their lead to 21-17. Ball State captured set three off an ace, winning 25-22 and taking a 2-1 overall lead.

Set Four

BYU reached a 13-10 lead after a kill by Teilon-Jonathan Tufuga through a long rally. Leading into the media timeout, BYU led the charge with a 15-11 score. The Cougars continued to apply pressure, extending their lead to 20-13 and drawing a Ball State timeout.

A 3-0 run by BYU forced the match into a fifth set, with the Cougars winning 25-17. Thiim led BYU’s offense with five kills in set four.

Set Five

BYU found a three-point lead at 6-3, featuring two Cardinal errors and leading into a Ball State timeout. Another Cardinal error gave BYU an 8-5 lead, with Ball State calling its final timeout of the match.

A back-set from Herget to Tufuga pushed BYU to a four-point lead at 9-5. BYU would burn a timeout to regroup once the score reached 10-7, with the Cougars still grabbing hold of the lead.

Benson emerged from the back row for a kill to give BYU a match point at 14-9, and a Ball State attack error handed the Cougars a 15-9 win, obtaining a 3-2 victory.

Up Next

BYU will face another team on the road next week, traveling to California to face UC Irvine on Wednesday, Jan. 22 and Friday, Jan. 24. Both matches will start at 6 p.m. PT and stream live on ESPN+.