Freshman Mary Lake passes the ball in the Cougars win over No. 11 Ohio State. (BYU Photo)
Freshmen Mckenna Miller and Mary Lake pushed No. 10 BYU women's volleyball to overcome No. 11 Ohio State in five sets (19-25, 24-26, 25-14, 25-20, 15-9) to win the Sports Imports D.C. Koehl Classic.
Miller led BYU with a career-high 31 kills and four blocks. Lake contributed a career-high 38 digs while Lyndie Haddock added a career-high 60 assists and 13 digs. Danelle Parady-Stetler tied the season-high of 10 digs in the defensive effort and Amy Boswell had a match-high five blocks and 13 kills. Whitney Young Howard added another 10 kills and four blocks to help seal the win.
'We showed some unbelievable heart and fight tonight,' said BYU head coach Heather Olmstead. 'The team never gave up and everybody contributed. I'm really happy for the team.'
BYU and Ohio State played a close first set and a pair of Miller's kills brought the Cougars within two points making the score 17-19. The Buckeyes then went on a 4-2 run to win the set 25-19.
The Cougars came back in the second set to make it a close game with Ohio State only winning by two points (26-24). BYU and Ohio State traded points the first portion of the set but a Buckeye 5-1 run propelled them to lead 20-15. BYU countered to come back within one point to make the score 23-22 and then a few plays later Howard tied the set at 24-all. However, the the Buckeyes won once again closing out the set at 26-24.
In the third set BYU took an incredible lead making the score 21-2 with help from several Ohio State errors and seven kills from Miller. The Buckeyes went on an 8-1 run to bring them back within 12. However, the Cougars ended the set 25-14.
Three more Miller kills helped BYU to a lead at the start of the fourth set. A pair of Boswell kills kept the Cougars leading and two more kills from Howard made the score 16-8. The Buckeyes made a 5-0 run in attempt to close the gap but BYU closed out the set 25-20 forcing a decisive fifth set.
BYU scored the first five points of the fifth set. The Buckeyes stayed within four, down 8-4, but the Cougars went on a 4-1 run and a Boswell and Cosy Burnett block made the score 12-5. BYU held on to the set and won the match 15-9 on a Boswell kill.
The Cougar comeback over No. 11 Ohio State named them the Sports Imports D.C. Koehl Classic tournament champions. Lake and Boswell were then added to the all-tournament team and Lake was awarded the Most Valuable Player.
BYU will compete next weekend in the Idaho State Invitational and try to maintain their undefeated record (6-0).