No. 3 BYU volleyball defeated Princeton in four sets Tuesday night.
Jake Langlois and Brenden Sander led the team in kills with 11 each. Sander also lead in digs with six and Miki Juahiainen led the Cougars with six blocks.
“Hats off to Princeton,” said BYU coach Shawn Olmstead. “They served tough and definitely put pressure on us and didn’t back down.”
With a kill off the face, Joe Grosh began the match with a kill 1-0. Langlois then went on to get three aces in a row pushing BYU to 7-4. A few rotations later, Langlois went back to collect another ace, making the score 16-12. The Tigers kept fighting back to tie the score at 22-22, but BYU would win the set 25-22.
BYU got off to a slow start in the second set, trailing Princeton 4-1 early. A kill by Langlois turned the energy around as BYU went on a run of points and took the lead 7-6. The Tigers and Cougars began trading runs of points until Dobbert sealed a BYU lead with a kill (18-16). The Tigers went on a run to tie the score 21-21. A kill by Kiril Meretev followed by a block from Brenden Sander and Miki Juahiainen gave the Cougars set point (24-22). The Cougars took the set 25-23.
Despite the Cougars taking a quick lead in the third set, the Tigers went on a run took the lead 12-11. Princeton stayed up until a big block by Meretev tied the score at 16-16. The Tigers capitalized on BYU’s attack errors and won the third set 25-21.
Sander started the forth set strong as he got an early solo block sandwiched between two kills. Another kill by Sander gave BYU a cushioned lead for 10-7. The Cougars took their energy back as Langlois ripped a ball down the line for 16-11. A block from Juahiainen put BYU within reach at 20-14. An ace from Sander finished the set off 25-18.
BYU will return to the Smith Fieldhouse to play two highly anticipated games against No. 1 Long Beach State this weekend.
