Match Stats
- #3 BYU def. #6 Lewis University 3-0 (27-25, 27-25, 25-22)
- BYU moves to 1-0 on the season; Lewisville falls to 0-1.
- Romeoville, Illinois (Lewis hosted)
- Match Stats
- Attendance: 981
Viewing Friday’s season-opening match for the #3 BYU Cougars and #6 Lewisville Flyers as a sweep would miss the excitement of one of the best game of the young men’s collegiate season so far.
In the first set, Lewis led most of the way, but a late BYU push gave them a set point at 24-23. Lewis then had a surge of t heir own to take the next two points and score their own set point, but a late BYU timeout and three-straight points closed out the set for the Cougars.
The second set went all BYU’s way early, and it was the Flyers who had to fight back. The score sat at 22-17 before a 5-1 Lewis rally reset the score at 24-24. But two late Lewis errors from Honorable Mention All-Americans, one on a Jacob Schmiegelt serve and another on a Mitch Perinar attack, tipped the second set to BYU in extra points once again.
The third set would see no such late comeback runs, and while the two traded points for much of the set, a BYU 9-2 serge in the middle of the frame gave them a 14-11 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
The Cougars got 17 kills on a .556 hitting percentage from Ben Patch to lead the way. Ryan Coenen was Lewis’ only player with double-digit kills, recording 10 on 20 swings with 3 errors for a .350 percentage. Schmiegelt and Perinar, in spite of their crucial errors in the second set, still had efficient performances. Schmiegelt had 8 kills with a .727 hitting percentage.
Both teams struggled from the service line, combining for 37 service errors on the game, though BYU’s 7 aces softened the blow.
Press Releases
Courtesy BYU Athletics:
ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Ben Patch and No. 3 BYU men’s volleyball rallied past No. 6 Lewis in three sets (27-25, 27-25, 25-22) Friday night at Neil Carey Arena to start the 2017 season.
“Tonight was a great team effort to get the season going,” BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “Lewis is a great program, and I was happy with how the team navigated through some ups and downs of the opener.”
Patch led the Cougars with 17 kills on a .556 clip. Leo Durkin set the team with 35 assists while adding three blocks. Jake Langlois added 12 kills and Brenden Sander had three aces in the win. Mitchel Worthington collected six digs in his first career start as a Cougar.
Lewis (0-1) got off to a quick 6-2 lead over BYU (1-0), collecting all their first points from Cougar miscues. A Sander kill capped off a 4-2 BYU rally, which got it back within two, trailing 8-6. A pair of Patch kills and a Langlois service ace tied things up at 12 apiece, and a Flyer attack error gave the Cougars their first lead of the night at 15-14. Lewis regained the lead at 20-17 after a three-point run, forcing Olmstead to take a timeout. BYU fought back to take set point at 24-23, but the Flyers rallied to a 25-24 set point. The Cougars scored the next three points, though, as a pair of Sander aces ended the close set for BYU, 27-25.
Back-to-back Price Jarman blocks helped BYU on a 6-1 run to take a 7-3 advantage at the start of the second set. Lewis followed with a 6-2 run to even the score at 9-9. A Durkin block kept the Cougars ahead 15-12, and a Sander kill increased the lead to four, 19-15. Patch scored BYU’s next three points from kills, extending the advantage at 22-17 before the Flyers rallied with a 5-1 run to tie things up again at 24-all. The Cougars then won the set 27-25 after two Lewis errors.
The Flyers jumped out to a 9-5 lead in the third set, prompting a BYU timeout. Following the break, the Cougars used a 9-2 run, capped off by a Patch kill, to take a 14-11 advantage. Lewis then came back to take a 17-16 lead before another Patch kill put BYU back out front, 19-17. Consecutive Langlois kills brought the Cougars ahead 23-20 before another Langlois kill ended the set 25-22, completing the sweep.
The Cougars stay in Illinois for their next match, facing Loyola-Chicago Saturday, Jan. 7, at 7 p.m. CST. The match will be streamed live on ESPN3. Links to live stats can be found on the BYU men’s volleyball schedule page.
Courtesy Lewis University:
Romeoville, Ill. – Despite hitting .329 as a team, the No. 6 Lewis University men’s volleyball team was unable to overcome 2016 National Runner-Up Brigham Young, as the No. 3 Cougars claimed the 27-25, 27-25, 25-22 non-conference victory over the Flyers in both team’s season openers at Neil Carey Arena on Friday (Jan. 6) night.
Redshirt freshman Ryan Coenen (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) topped the Flyers with 10 kills and hit .350 (10 kills, 3 errors, 20 attacks), while redshirt sophomore Mitch Perinar (Channahon, Ill./Minooka) chipped in nine kills and three blocks (1 solo).
Lewis redshirt senior middle blocker Jacob Schmiegelt (Lombard, Ill./Willowbrook) was nearly perfect with eight kills and a hitting percentage of .727 (8-0-11). Sophomore setter Matt Yoshimoto (Ventura, Calif./Adolfo Camarillo) dished out 31 assists, while redshirt sophomore Michael Simmons (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) had a match-high eight digs.
With the win, BYU improves to 1-0 on the campaign while the Flyers fall to 0-1.
The match featured 37 serving errors with BYU committing 20 of the miscues and the Flyers with 17 missed attempts. BYU hit .380 (42-12-79) as a team.
Lewis returns to action on Saturday (Jan. 7) as they welcome NJIT to Neil Carey Arena for a 7 PM first serve.
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