BYU and Fairleigh Dickinson met at the Smith Fieldhouse Saturday evening, and the Cougars secured their fourth victory of the season to remain undefeated with a 3-0 win over the Knights.
BYU cruised past its visitors by set scores of 25-15, 25-19, and 25-15. The win gives the Cougars their third sweep on the year and pushes them to an impressive 12-1 in sets played this season, with the only misstep coming against then-No. 14 Lewis on Jan. 7.
After Saturday’s match, BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead was pleased with his team’s focus and ability to secure another sweep.
“You can go through some momentum waves and one touch leads to another and before you know it you’ve lost a set,” he said. “In the moments when (we) needed to go, I felt like (we) did that. (We) responded well.”
Both teams entered the weekend with perfect records, but only the Cougars ended with one. BYU’s .394 hitting percentage propelled it to the victory.
Olmstead praised fans for creating a great atmosphere at the Smith Fieldhouse Saturday.
“It was rockin’,” he said. “We’re used to it, but sometimes I think you maybe take it for granted. I just can’t thank the community enough … all these people who come, for being here this weekend.”
Saturday’s contest was the schools’ second meeting in two nights, with each match ending in the same result. BYU used 12 blocks and five aces as it powered its way past Fairleigh Dickinson Friday in what was the programs’ first time playing each other.
It also marked the first time this season that the Cougars entered a weekend of matches as a ranked team, coming in at No. 13.
BYU’s ranking looked well deserved Saturday as it jumped out to a quick lead in the first set, taking an early 8-2 advantage. Fairleigh Dickinson tightened things up midway through the game but ultimately couldn’t keep up with the Cougars, who cruised past the Knights to earn the double-digit victory.
The next set was more evenly matched than the first, but still favored BYU as the Cougars impressed with a .429 hitting percentage. BYU held a slim advantage most of the way, but it scored the final three points to finish with its largest lead of the set.
BYU put on another dominant performance in the final set, never trailing after starting things out by scoring the first three points. The Cougars got better from there, going ahead 20-10 to all but seal the match.
With such a big cushion, BYU had the luxury of getting other players some time on the court.
“We really wanted them, the guys that were starting the match, to put our team in a position where we could get some other guys in and they did that,” Olmstead said. “We kind of challenged the guys to do that and they did a really, really remarkable job … which allowed us to get some guys in.”
One player who got extra playing time was freshman outside hitter Trent Moser, who started both matches of the weekend in place of an injured Miks Ramanis.
Moser finished Saturday evening with a team-high 11 kills.
“I came in to BYU just kind of with a chip on my shoulder and … played my heart out at practice,” Moser said. “It feels fantastic. I love it out here.”
Following the match, Olmstead said that Moser’s play this weekend proves that he deserves an increased role for the Cougars moving forward.
Moser and BYU will play their first road contests of the season next week when they travel to California to face off against nationally ranked UC Irvine. The Cougars and Anteaters will play a pair of matches, the first taking place Wednesday and the second Friday.
Both begin at 8 p.m. MT and can be watched live on ESPN+.