Princeton University
4-3,0-0EIVA
BYU
7-1,0-0MPSF
No. 14 Men's Volleyball Falls to No. 8 BYU, 3-0
January 23, 2024 | Men's Volleyball
PROVO, UT - The No. 14 men's volleyball team dropped their second match to No. 8 BYU this evening in Smith Fieldhouse, 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-23). Throughout the match, the Tigers stayed close to the Cougars, recording an equal number of kills at 37. However, they couldn't capitalize on crucial scoring runs, leading to BYU securing a 5-0 advantage in the all-time series.
Nyherowo secured the initial three points of the evening through successive kills for the Tigers, complemented by a block assist alongside Gavin Leising, propelling them to a 4-2 lead.
While the Tigers struggled with a couple of service errors early on, the Cougars gave up points with attacking errors. Princeton put up a strong fight, leading in kills with a margin of 6 to 5 and maintaining an 11-9 advantage over the Cougars, with Omene securing 4 kills to lead the charge.
Princeton took a 15-12 lead before the first media timeout and the Tigers were hitting 66.7%.
Leading 17-15, Nyherowo initiated an aggressive offensive, delivering consecutive powerful kills to extend the Tigers' lead by 4 points. Subsequently, the Tigers added 4 more points, but the Cougars managed to equalize at 21. The final points of the first set were decided by two kills and an error. BYU's 10-3 run awarded them a first set win, 25-22.
Nyherowo Omene went 8 for 9 on attacks in the first set.
Another start for the Tigers in the second set as Omene picked up two more kills to give Princeton the early advantage. However, the Tigers would go on an attacking lull and give up their lead, with the score eventually reaching 7-13 in advantage of BYU.
The Cougars' momentum continued, extending their lead to as much as 9 points, prompting Princeton to call a timeout for discussion. Omene contributed three kills, Leising added one, as they fought to score points for the Tigers, with Jameson Vaccaro also making a contribution with a kill.
The Tigers managed to score 6 points against the Cougars' 2 towards the end, but they couldn't overcome the Cougars' early scoring surge, ultimately losing the second set with a score of 25-18. At this point in the match, Omene was the leader with 12 kills and an impressive hitting percentage of .667.
Princeton faced a deficit of 8-13 in the third set. The Tigers went on an 14-7 run to take over the Cougar's lead, notably Ben Harrington scored off the first service ace of the night and Omene followed with two more. Although the Tigers managed to score the points to catch up on the scoreboard, they couldn't establish a consistent scoring streak at the end of the set to surpass BYU's lead. The Tigers went on to drop the third set, 25-23.
Nyherowo Omene lead the team with 16 kills followed by Ben Harrington with 11. Owen Mellon contributed 4 digs while Sun, Wedbush, and Harrington had 3 each.
Up Next
The Tigers will host their first home opponent against No. 17 UC Santa Barbara (2-5) on Jan. 31 in Provo, Utah, at 7 p.m. in Dillon Gym.
