BYU men’s volleyball played its Blue and White scrimmage Saturday night at the Smith Fieldhouse in an electric atmosphere.
The scrimmage drew an impressive turnout for a preseason event, with much of the ROC showing out along with plenty of fans eager to get their first look at the Cougars.
Coach Shawn Olmstead addressed the crowd by thanking them for showing up and said, “There’s never a better place to be when men’s volleyball is in town. So they’re gonna get after it.”
The intensity was high from the start, with plenty of hustle plays with players chasing down wild passes, diving for pancake saves and fighting through scramble plays. High-flying spikes and electrifying blocks were on full display as well.
Senior Cole Hauser stood out for his energy and enthusiasm, recording several kills and a pair of aces in their first showing before the upcoming season.
“I’m fired up to make the most of my last year, especially with all our seniors here,” Hauser said. “We’re fired up.”
For Hauser, winning is always the goal, but he’s also focused on savoring his final season.
“Outside of that, I want to make sure that as my last year playing volleyball, I make the most of it with all these guys,” he said.
Hauser looks forward to bringing the young guys along as well. He wants them to be ready to give everything for this year and not hold back for their later years. This year's squad features eight freshmen and three sophomores, creating plenty of opportunity for the young talent to emerge.
Olmstead highlighted freshman AJ Cottle after the scrimmage.
“I think AJ is going to [bring energy],” Olmstead said. “He’s really, really young in the sport, but long and physical and athletic, and so he’s going to catch some people.”
Cottle, who only started playing volleyball during his senior year of high school, has quickly developed and looks poised to make an impact this season.
The match was competitive throughout, both sides winning two sets, and the largest margin of victory was just 25-20. Olmstead and his staff split the teams evenly and switched some players in between sets to see different matchups.
“We were trying to get the most competitive matchups that we could get,” Olmstead said. “It was [valuable] to us as a team, and [hopefully for] the fans too.”
Olmstead identified seniors Trent Moser and Jackson Fife, along with junior Bernardo Adam, as players he expects to take on a bigger leadership role for the team in 2026.
Olmstead said there will be some difficult decisions as competition nears — a challenge he welcomes.
“As a coach, you want that to be the case; you want to make tough decisions,” Olmstead said. “If you’re making easy decisions, your team probably doesn’t have the depth you need.”
So Olmstead and his staff will make those decisions as the men’s volleyball season approaches.
At the end of Olmstead’s opening remarks, he thanked everyone for their support of BYU athletics, whether it was football, basketball or volleyball, before adding, “We’re going to be the hottest team on campus, you can mark my words.”
Judging by Saturday’s performance, he could be right.