Herget hits three aces, helps No. 6 BYU to 3-1 win over Barry

PROVO, Utah — Tyler Herget posted a season-high three aces to lift No. 6 BYU men’s volleyball to a 3-1 win (25-14, 25-15, 19-25, 25-13) over Barry University on Friday night at the Smith Fieldhouse.

"I was really proud of how we started," said BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead. "Later, we got a bunch of new guys on the floor and they got to learn through that. The best learning experience is in a game. We had an opportunity to put them in this environment on the floor in front of a great crowd. Hats off to our fans. I appreciate them showing up. I was also proud of the guys that came back in during set four and took care of business. We’ll take it, and anytime we can play more volleyball is really valuable."

Herget’s three aces each came in the fourth set and accompanied a kill, 23 assists, two digs and two blocks for the junior setter from Darien, Connecticut.

A season-high 11 different Cougars recorded at least one kill on Friday, with Keoni Thiim leading the way at nine. Thiim was joined by Miks Ramanis, Gavin Chambers and Teon Taylor in hitting .500 versus Barry.

Jonathan-Teilon Tufuga tallied seven kills at a clip of .417 to go along with three blocks while Luke Benson put up five kills with Ethan Gant and Taylor adding four a-piece. Ramanis’ three kills and a block were complemented by a season-high and match-high 10 digs.

BYU (11-4) hit .267 for the match while limiting the Buccaneers to .100. The Cougars committed 18 errors to Barry’s 27 and put up 42 kills to the visitors’ 37.

Set One

Thiim began the match with a quick kill but Barry responded with four of its own and fought to a 6-6 tie before BYU broke the set open with its first of three different 3-0 runs.

A second kill from Thiim helped the Cougars retake the lead then two Buccaneer attack errors put BYU up 9-6. The Cougars went up 13-8 moments later with the help of two more Barry errors, a block from Gant and Tufuga, and a hammering kill off the paw of Gant.

Three more kills from Taylor, Gant and Tufuga preceded Ramanis, Taylor and Herget walling off the net for a block assist as BYU built a 19-11 lead. Tufuga registered two more kills and Ramanis an ace before Thiim finished what he started with a set-sealing kill.

The Cougars’ 25-14 set-one win game as they outhit the Buccaneers .429 to .115 while benefitting from six Barry service errors.

Set Two

A pair of errors put BYU down 4-2 to start the second set but the Cougars found a spark and went on a 4-0 run to lead 6-4 with Taylor and Tufuga combining for a block prior to go-ahead kills from Ramanis and Cole Hauser.

Tufuga continued to make his presence felt on the floor with a kill and ace on consecutive plays that put BYU up 8-6 after Barry tied the set at sixes. The Cougars engineered another 4-0 run to lead 15-9 with four straight kills at the hands of Hauser, Ramanis, Tufuga and Gavin Chambers.

Taylor and Chambers combined for BYU’s final three kills of the set as the Cougars closed it out 25-15 while hitting at a clip of .409 to Barry’s .217. Tufuga alone hit .444 with five kills to lead BYU.

Set Three

While BYU outhit Barry .247-.171 in the second set, 10 Cougar errors gave the Buccaneers an opportunity and they seized it on the way to a 25-19 set-three win to extend the match.

Barry jumped out to an 8-4 lead with two kills, three blocks and two BYU errors along the way. Noa Haine cut into the Buccaneer lead at 8-5 with a kill but a third Cougar error and another Barry kill gave the visitors a 10-5 advantage.

BYU battled back with a 5-0 run to square the set at 10s on kills from Gant and Benson as well as consecutive block assists from Chambers. Barry briefly retook the lead 11-10 before the Cougars rattled off three straight kills, two of which were credited to Benson.

Despite BYU’s 7-1 run, the Buccaneers refused to fade and traded scores with the Cougars on the way to a set knotted at 17 and eventually led by Barry 20-17. The Buccaneers rode their newfound momentum the rest of the way for a 5-2 close to the match.

Set Four

Barry briefly led in the early scoring of set four but the Cougars tied the frame 33 with a Thiim ace and never relinquished the lead.

Two Buccaneer attacking errors lifted BYU to a 6-4 edge which Tufuga soon widened to 8-6 with his seventh kill of the match. A block from Herget and Taylor following another of Barry’s eight set-four errors lifted the Cougars to an 11-6 lead.

Herget fired three aces across the Buccaneers’ bow, helping the Cougars to their first double digit lead of the set at 19-9. Thiim then shut the door on the match with six kills down the stretch, including kills to score BYU’s last three straight points. After a dip below .300 in set three, the Cougars finished the match strong, hitting .353 while keeping Barry at bay with at -.087.

Up Next

BYU closes the weekend with its second match versus Barry at the Smith Fieldhouse set for Saturday at 7 p.m. MST on Big 10+. A rebroadcast of the match can be found on the BYUtv app and byutv.org at 10 p.m. MT following the match.