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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Miles Johnson put down 15 kills, and AVCA national player of the year Nicolas Szerszen added 10 kills and three service aces to lead No. 3 Ohio State to a 32-30, 25-23, 25-17 sweep of No. 1 BYU in the NCAA men’s volleyball national championship Saturday at Penn State’s Rec Hall.
Driss Guessous had 10 kills on 14 swings for the Buckeyes (31-2), who won the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Tournament title two weeks ago. Christy Blough dished out 44 assists for the Ohio State, which won its second national title in program history.
Brenden Sander led BYU (27-4) with 14 kills, and Ben Patch added 10 kills for the Cougars, who served 10 errors with just two aces in the final.
Leo Durkin dished out 32 assists for BYU, which saw a set-point opportunity disappear after going up 25-24 in the opening set.
Durkin, Sander and Price Jarman threw down a triple block to give BYU a 26-25 advantage in the first set, but Johnson tied the set and Ohio State ended the first set on a 7-4 run to take all the momentum from the beginning.
BYU advanced to its first national final since 2013, when it lost to UC Irvine in three sets. The Cougars last won the national title in 2004, their third such honor.
