Benson's 21 kills boosts BYU in 3-1 win over Ohio State, sweeping the Buckeyes

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The No. 6 BYU men’s volleyball team defeated No. 11 Ohio State 3-1 (29-27, 23-25, 25-15, 25-17) in the Covelli Center on Saturday evening, sweeping the Buckeyes in their opening weekend of the 2025 season.

"It was a really nice weekend for the team," said BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead. "They did a nice job staying focused through the back-to-back games. Luke had two very nice nights for us and took a handful of big swings when we needed him to in the rally. Teilon came off the bench and had some key digs in his position that we were lacking earlier from that spot. Keoni again changed momentum from the service line."

After winning a narrow first set and dropping the second set, a decisive 10-point win by BYU in the third set helped propel the Cougars to victory.

Luke Benson led the Cougars with a match-high 21 kills on a .375 hitting percentage, earning more than half of BYU's 40 overall kills. Keoni Thiim also totaled 18 kills, on a .286 clip. He also had a match-high three aces.

Freshman middle blocker Niko Hales debuted in his first collegiate start for the Cougars while being the only freshman starter for BYU on the night. Hales totaled three kills, 1.5 blocks and an ace. Senior middle blocker Teon Taylor also put up a match-high nine blocks.

The Cougars outhit the Buckeyes with a .286 hitting percentage, holding OSU to a .149 clip. BYU also had 39 digs compared to OSU's 27.

Set One

BYU came out with a commanding 3-0 lead, including an ace by Thiim. Benson earned BYU’s first kill of the night, taking the score to 5-4 in favor of the Cougars. With seven even scores following, both teams failed to go on a substantial run.

BYU profited off of back-to-back Ohio State errors, with the Cougars mustering a 14-12 lead. The Cougars pulled away by two points again after two more Ohio State errors, forcing the Buckeyes to take a timeout at 18-16.

With the score tied at 21-21 late in the set, kills by Lucas Torres and Thiim gave BYU the first set point at 24-22. Ohio State remained alive for two more points, evening the score at 24 after two BYU errors. The first set saw another tie at 26, and Ohio State would find its first set point at 27-26 after an ace and kill, forcing a BYU timeout. A kill by Thiim, kill by Benson and OSU attacking error secured BYU a 29-27 victory, taking the 1-0 lead. 

Set Two

Ohio State brought out the energy in the beginning of the second set, leading with a 3-0 run. BYU battled to tie it up at 6-6 as result of a 3-0 run of its own. Hales later earned his first ace as a Cougar to tie the set again at nine. 

A kill by OSU and two attacking errors by BYU took the score to 17-15, with BYU trailing by two, causing BYU to burn a timeout. Another 3-0 run gave the Buckeyes a four-point advantage at 21-17, their largest lead of the set, which in turn forced another BYU timeout.

BYU cut Ohio State’s lead down to two points at 23-21, but a kill by All-American Shane Wetzel gave OSU a set point. The Buckeyes would put an end to set two after a BYU service error, winning 25-23 to tie the match at 1-1 in similar fashion as the previous game.

Set Three

Four kills by BYU gave the Cougars an early 7-3 lead, featuring back-to-back kills by Benson. BYU found a five-point lead at 9-4, leading to an Ohio State timeout.

Two blocks by Teon Taylor gave BYU a 13-5 advantage. Next, back-to-back kills by Thiim boosted BYU’s lead to 15-7, forcing an OSU timeout in an attempt to cut down BYU’s largest lead of the evening so far. The Cougars continued to coast, gaining an even larger eight-point lead at 17-9 after Benson’s 12th kill. 

The Cougars reached a 10-point lead at 22-12 after another Benson kill. A kill by Thiim and an OSU service error would put on bow on set three, giving BYU a 25-12 win and 2-1 lead. 

Set Four

Picking up right where they left off, the Cougars went on a 5-0 run to kick off the fourth set. Ohio State inched its way into closing BYU’s gap, taking the score to 9-6, with BYU still in the lead.

Thiim earned his third ace of the match, upping back BYU’s lead to 15-9 and forcing an Ohio State timeout. Benson hit a ball off the hands of an Ohio State blocker to earn his 19th kill of the night. 

BYU rallied all the way through the fourth set, going on to defeat the Buckeyes 25-17 after a kill by Thiim and winning the match.

Up Next

The Cougars will host a pair of matches against St. Thomas Aquinas College, beginning with their home opener on Friday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. MT followed by Saturday’s match on Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. MT as well. Both games will be live on BYUtv and can be streamed on byutv.org