The No. 12 seeded BYU women’s volleyball team ended its season with a 3-1 loss to No. 5 Oregon in the NCAA tournament Friday.
BYU Head Coach Shawn Olmstead said Oregon did an outstanding job in its match against BYU.
“Hats off to Oregon,” Olmstead said. “They got us definitely out of system, out of our style of play. That’s a credit to them, their coaching staff and their athletes for executing the game plan really nicely. I felt those moments where they got us out of wack really got us in the end.”
The Cougars closed their impressive season 28–4 in the Sweet Sixteen round of the tournament against Oregon after taking down New Mexico State and Oklahoma in earlier rounds.
In the West Coast Conference, the Cougars finished 13–3 and came out as conference champions, sharing the WCC title with San Diego.
Olmstead said the season held a lot of positives for the Cougars, especially making it into the NCAA tournament. The last time the Cougars played in the NCAA tournament was in 2007. The Cougars also took the WCC title, which they have not done since 2005.
“When I got this job, I told the girls, ‘Buckle up, hold on. We’re going to turn this thing around,'” Olmstead said. “Like I’ve said a thousand times, I felt we were one loss away from being in the tournament last year. This year we made it, and being able to win some matches is a positive that these girls have to cling to moving forward.”
The Cougars added more positives to their season by receiving multiple honors. Olmstead received West Coast Conference Coach of the Year. Junior opposite hitter Jennifer Hamson received Player of the Year, freshman outside hitter Alexa Gray received Freshman of the Year, and senior middle blocker Nicole Warner received Defensive Player of the Year.
The Cougars also made their most team victories since 1999, with 28 wins this season.
