Cougars sweep Cardinals for second straight night

PROVO, Utah  — No. 9 BYU men's volleyball picked up its second sweep in as many nights over No. 11 Ball State (25-19, 25-17, 25-16) at the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday night, going a perfect 2-0 on opening weekend of the 2024 season.

The Cougars (2-0, 0-0 MPSF) hit a blistering .379 for the match while holding the Cardinals to a .067 clip, Ball State’s lowest percentage since 2018. Opposite hitter Kupono Browne finished with nine, while outside hitter Miks Ramanis ended with eight kills, hitting .727.

"It’s nice to see a new dynamic this year," said Ramanis. "Different players are starting and stepping up on the court. In preseason training, we had a dog mentality. This season just started, so it’s time to get really good."

Fellow outside hitter Luke Benson tallied a career-high 4 aces as BYU totaled six for the match. The Cougars outblocked the Cardinals, seven to four, paced by four total blocks from middle blocker Gaven Julien.

Set One
Even through 14-all, BYU took a 15-14 lead into the media timeout thanks to a pair of kills each from Browne, Benson and Ramanis. A 3-0 run forced a Ball State timeout, with the Cougars in front 19-15.

Noa Haine and Julien combined for a double block before Ramanis scored out of the back row for a 22-17 advantage. A Browne kill on the right side gave BYU set point, and a Ramanis kill off the block won set one, 25-19.

Set Two
In similar fashion to the first, the second set saw 10 ties and four lead changes as both teams went back and forth through 10-all. A solo block by Gavin Julien and two quick hitters for the middle blocker gave the Cougars a 13-11 lead.

BYU then scored five-straight, spanning two Cardinal timeouts, to go in front by six at 18-12. Going on a 4-0 run to earn set point, a Ball State error a few plays later wrapped up the second, 25-17.

Set Three
After the first two sets saw a combined 20 ties and five lead changes, the third saw just two ties as the Cardinals called both of their timeouts in the first eight points. BYU went on a 10-0 run during the span to lead 12-2, fueled by four aces from Benson, one on an out-of-rotation call on Ball State, and an overpass kill hammered home by Haine.

Scoring four straight after a Benson-Ethan Gant double block, the Cougars held a commanding 19-8 lead before weathering a 4-0 Cardinal run. Browne tabbed his second ace of the night on another rotation error, and put BYU in front 22-13 after a kill off the block. Two errors gave the Cougars match point, which it finished off with a triple block, 25-16.

Up Next
BYU will next travel to Illinois to face Loyola-Chicago for a single match on Thursday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. CST.