BYU vs Long Beach State

Semi-Final Upset

Brenden Sander helped No. 3 seed BYU men’s volleyball upset No. 2 seed Long Beach State in straight sets (25-20, 25-18, 25-23) Thursday night at St. John Arena to advance to the national championship match of the NCAA Tournament.

Set 1

Long Beach State (27-4) got off to a 4-1 lead in the first set against BYU (26-4), but the Cougars scored the next five-straight points to go up 6-4. BYU stayed ahead until a 3-1 spurt from the 49ers evened the score at 9-all.

Sander’s fifth hit and kill helped the Cougars take a 16-13 advantage, and consecutive Long Beach State attack errors extended the BYU lead to four at 20-16. The Cougars cruised from there, taking the set 25-20 on another Sander kill.

Set 2

Back-to-back-to-back aces from Langlois helped BYU get off to a 5-2 start in the second set. The Cougars were up by as many as four at 8-4 until the 49ers stormed back to get within one, down 10-9.

A 4-1 Cougar run followed, capped off by a Joseph Grosh kill, to re-extend BYU’s advantage to four at 14-10. An ace from Wil Stanley forced Long Beach State into a timeout with the Cougars up 21-15. BYU then took the set 25-18 on a Grosh kill.

Set 3

Sander got the third set started with an ace, but the 49ers came out strong after that, going up 9-5 on an ace. A trio of kills from Dobbert helped BYU get back within two, down 11-9, and a Sander kill kept the Cougars within striking distance trailing 15-12.

An out-of-system kill from Dobbert forced a timeout from Long Beach State with the 49ers leading 19-17. BYU then tied the score at 22 following a Dobbert kill and block. A Langlois ace gave the Cougars set point and a final Sander kill ended the set and match 25-23.

Title Match on Saturday

The Cougars return to action at St. John Arena for the national championship match Saturday, May 6, at 7 p.m. EDT, against the winner of No. 4 seed Hawai’i and No. 1 seed Ohio State. The match will televised live on ESPN2.