COLUMBUS, Ohio — The No. 6 BYU men’s volleyball team earned its first win of the 2025 season, defeating the No. 11 Ohio State Buckeyes 3-1 (19-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-18) on the road in its season opener.
"It's always exciting and fun to get the season started," said BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead. "I'm proud of how the guys responded and learned a bit from that first set. Keoni led by example at the net and especially from the service line. Luke did an outstanding job coming in to start the second set. We're looking forward to another one tomorrow night."
After dropping a first set to the Buckeyes, BYU bounced back to secure the 3-1 victory. Leading the Cougars were outside hitters Luke Benson and Keoni Thiim, accounting for over 60% of BYU's overall kills. Benson totaled 13 kills on a .571 hitting percentage, with Thiim earning a match-high 14 kills on a .379 clip.
Thiim, a senior transfer from the University of Hawai'i, also recorded five aces, tied for the eighth-most in a single match in BYU men's volleyball history.
The Cougars recorded 10 aces on the night, holding Ohio State to just four. BYU also out-hit the Buckeyes with a .308 hitting percentage compared to OSU's .252 clip.
Set One
A 3-0 run by BYU gave the Cougars an early 3-1 lead while Thiim was serving first at the line for BYU. Lucas Torres earned the first ace of the night to give BYU a 6-4 lead. Ohio State would later answer with an ace to even the score at six.
BYU’s starting setter Noa Haine collected BYU’s second ace to gain a 10-9 lead. After mutliple attack errors by BYU, the Cougars would call a timeout when down 16-13.
The Buckeyes forced another BYU timeout after their third block of the night at 22-17, with BYU trailing by five points. The Ohio State block proved to be too much for the Cougars, and BYU would fall 25-19 in the opening set.
Set Two
Luke Benson entered the match and immediately earned a kill for a 2-1 score, with BYU down by one. True freshman Niko Hales also entered the match at middle blocker for his first BYU volleyball appearance. Benson then knocked the ball straight to the hardwood floor to tie the match at 3-3.
A 5-0 run by BYU gave the Cougars their much needed energy boost, taking the score to 10-7, its largest lead of the evening so far.
Once the score saw a tie at 12-12, neither team would take more than a one-point lead until the Cougars earned an 18-16 advantage courtesy of a Torres kill. A block by Benson gave BYU a 21-18 lead, forcing Ohio State to burn its first timeout of the match.
Luke Benson stepped up to the service line at a set point for BYU, and a kill by Hales would tie up the match 1-1 with a 25-20 win in the second set.
Set Three
Two kills by Benson and an ace by Torres gave BYU a 6-4 lead in the early stages of set three. When BYU upped its lead to 12-8 after a Thiim ace, the Buckeyes utilized a timeout.
ACEEEEE🔥
— BYU Men’s Volleyball (@BYUmvolleyball) January 4, 2025
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The Cougars earned a five-point lead at 14-9 off Benson’s 10th kill of the evening. Benson would then earn two more kills to give BYU an 18-13 edge, leading the pace of BYU’s offense in set three.
Teilon-Jonathan Tufuga, who recently returned from his mission in Eugene, Oregon, earned an ace that would extend BYU’s lead to 20-14, his first service ace since before his mission in May 2021.
The Cougars wrapped up set three by going on a 3-0 run, including a kill by Thiim, to win 25-18 and secure its first overall lead of the evening at 2-1.
Set Four
A kill and consequential ace by Thiim gave BYU a 10-7 lead, forcing an Ohio State timeout.
BYU’s freshman Hales earned his second kill of the match to give BYU a 13-12 lead. Back-to-back aces by Thiim extended BYU’s lead to 19-15, followed by a Taylor block. A fourth Keoni ace took the score to 21-15, his fifth of the evening.
A service error by Ohio State would later give BYU a 25-18 victory, solidifying a 3-1 win and first victory of the season.
Up Next
The Cougars will face the Buckeyes once more tomorrow evening on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. ET, with live coverage on Big10+. A purchase is required to stream the match.