PROVO, Utah — No. 7 BYU men’s volleyball swept For Valley State (25-14, 25-18, 25-21) on Saturday night at the Smith Fieldhouse to complete the weekend series.
The Cougars hit .523 as a team, committing just five attack errors on 65 attempts while holding the Wildcats to a .230 hitting percentage. BYU finished with 39 kills and controlled the net with 10 total blocks.
Tennison Lighthall and Connor Oldani led BYU with 10 kills apiece, with Lighthall posting a career-high performance. AJ Cottle added seven kills on seven swings for a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage with the most playing time since returning from a thumb injury more than a month ago. Max Phillipe, Gavin Chambers and Oldani held down the defense with four blocks each.
The victory marked the 200th career win for head coach Shawn Olmstead with the BYU men’s volleyball program.
“I’ve been fortunate. I’m the luckiest guy in the world. I think that every day,” Olmstead said. “These young men and all the staff over the years have put a little bit of faith and trust not just in me but in the program, the school, the institution. It really has nothing to do with me. It’s all about those people. These guys right now, all the outstanding athletes I’ve had over the years, they’ve made my job kind of easy at times. I’m just unbelievably blessed and grateful I get to come here every day and be a part of their lives. Hopefully I can influence them a little bit and win some volleyball matches in the meantime.”
Olmstead became just the second head coach in program history to reach the 200-win plateau, joining Carl McGown, BYU’s all-time winningest coach with 205 wins in 336 matches. Olmstead reached the milestone in 278 matches.
BYU has now won 27 consecutive sets and recorded double-digit kills for the sixth time this season.
Set 1
BYU came out firing, opening the match with a kill from Oldani followed by a solo block from Trent Moster to spark an early 5-0 run. The Cougars quickly stretched the lead to 8-2 behind a Max Phillipe kill, forcing Fort Valley to play catch-up from the opening whistle.
Cottle added a thunderous kill to push the lead to 9-3 before Lighthall took control at the service line, delivering an ace and following it with a middle attack to give BYU an 11-4 advantage. The Cougars continued to apply pressure at the net, building the lead to 15-6 heading into the media timeout.
Out of the break, the Cougars remained aggressive at the net with back-to-back blocks by Phillipe and Oldani to push the margin to 17-8. BYU maintained control as the teams traded points down the stretch, building the lead to 21-11.
Lighthall later delivered another service ace to bring set point, and despite Fort Valley State saving two set points late, a Wildcat service error sealed the opener as BYU took the first set, 25-14. The Cougars hit .556 in the first set compared to Fort Valley State’s .182.
Set 2
Fort Valley State showed early fight in the second set, jumping out to a 3-2 lead, the Wildcats’ first lead of the match, and holding the advantage briefly at 5-3. The Cougars answered behind a Phillipe kill and a Wildcat attack error to regain the lead at 6-5.
After the teams traded points to knot the score at 6-6, Lighthall put BYU back in front with a kill, sparking a 3-0 Cougar run to build a 9-6 advantage. Fort Valley State stayed within striking distance, trimming the deficit to one at 9-8 before BYU responded.
Cottle provided a momentum shift with a kill to make it 12-9, igniting a 4-0 run that gave the Cougars separation. The Cougars carried a 15-10 lead into the media timeout.
Out of the break, Fort Valley State trimmed the deficit to four, but BYU quickly answered. Cottle delivered another kill, and Moser followed with a left-side attack to extend the margin. The Cougars then strung together a 5-0 run to open up a 21-14 lead, forcing a Wildcat timeout.
BYU maintained control down the stretch as Lighthall added a kill to bring up set point. Despite Fort Valley State scoring one late point, Cottle closed the frame with a powerful kill to give the Cougars the second set, 25-18, and a 2-0 match lead.
Set 3
The third set opened with both teams trading points through the early stages, with the score knotted at 3-3 before BYU created separation. Back-to-back blocks from Lighthall and Gavin Chambers sparked a Cougar run that pushed BYU in front 8-4.
Fort Valley State answered with a short run to cut into the deficit, but Oldani and Trevor Herget delivered timely kills to keep BYU in front at 10-8. The Wildcats tied the set at 10-10, and the teams remained locked in a back-and-forth battle until BYU gained a slim 15-13 edge heading into the media timeout.
BYU created separation late in the third set, pulling ahead 21-17 before a save by Herget and a kill from Lighthall forced a Wildcat timeout. Fort Valley State stayed within reach, but the Cougars maintained control down the stretch.
Chambers closed the match with a kill assisted by Kyle Zediker, sealing the third set, 25-21, and completing the sweep for BYU.
Up Next
The Cougars travel to Honolulu this week for two top-10 matchups with No. 3 Hawaii on Wednesday and Friday.