Hamson, unseeded BYU volleyball down No. 2 Texas, advance to national championship


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — For three weeks, the BYU women’s volleyball team has asked one question: Why not us?

After Thursday night, the Cougars might ask a different question: Why not one more?

BYU will be the first-ever unseeded women’s volleyball team to play for a national championship after it knocked off No. 2 Texas, 25-23, 25-16, 17-25, 26-24 at Chesapeake Energy Center for the third loss of the year for the Longhorns (27-3).

Hamson finished with a match-high 22 kills, 10 digs and seven blocks for BYU. Alexa Gray added 19 kills on .421 hitting and Tambre Nobles supplied 11 kills, 12 digs and four blocks for the Cougars.

The 12th-ranked Cougars (30-4) will play Penn State on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. MT.

“Honestly, I just wanted to get the kill,” Hamson told ESPN after the match. “I believed in my ability and in my teammates, so I knew I could get the second (match point).”

In the decisive fourth set, neither team could pull away from the other through a 10-10 tie, but BYU slowly began to take control. Nobles put down back-to-back kills to give her 11 on the match, becoming the third BYU player to reach double-digit attacks and giving the Cougars a 14-11 lead. Chiaka Ogbogu laid down a kill and a block to cap a 4-1 run and pulled the Longhorns back up, 16-15.

Amy Boswell had three-straights stuffs to put BYU back up 19-16, including a solo block on a relentless Ogbogu. But the Longhorns wouldn’t go away as Ogbogu’s spike led a 4-0 run to go back up 20-19 on a block by Haley Eckerman.

BYU's Alexa Gray (9) and Texas's Khat Bell (1) go up for the ball during an NCAA college volleyball tournament semifinal in Oklahoma City, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2014. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
BYU's Alexa Gray (9) and Texas's Khat Bell (1) go up for the ball during an NCAA college volleyball tournament semifinal in Oklahoma City, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2014. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Hamson blocked a shot with her fingertips to pull BYU back even at 22-22, and her solo block gave BYU match-point at 24-23 before Eckerman and Texas rallied back. Hamson gave the Cougars a 26-24 win on a perfect set from freshman Aloha Robbins-Hardy to clinch the set and the match.

“We knew Texas was going to put up a big fight,” Hamson said. “We decided to sit back and wait for the block, and I think it went well.

“Our defense is playing better and better, and we’ve been trying to keep getting better. Ciara had some big digs, and everyone on the court really stepped up.”

In the first set, Texas jumped out to a 14-11 lead on Molly McCage’s block and looked to hold on in a set that neither team had led by more than two points to that point. Nobles and Boswell brought the Cougars back to 15-15 with a double-block, and BYU briefly took a 20-19 lead on a kill by Gray. Hamson then laid down her eighth kill to set up set point for the Cougars at 24-23 while holding on for the 1-0 advantage.

Hamson had a set-high eight kills and Gray added five as BYU hit .333 while holding the Texas standout Eckerman to three kills in the opening set.

In the second set, Nobles gave BYU a 14-9 with a smashing block on Texas’ Khat Bell for a then-match-best, five-point lead. Gray’s hard swing gave the Cougars a 21-15 lead, and BYU finished the set on a 4-1 run to take a 2-0 lead.

Texas had only trailed 0-2 once in 2014, a come-from-behind win at West Virginia on Sept. 24. The Longhorns also trailed Oklahoma by two sets on Oct. 25, a match the Sooners won 3-0.

BYU out-blocked Texas 11-6 going into the break.

But in the third set, Texas came out strong from the opening serve. The Longhorns took a 7-5 lead that forced Olmstead to take a timeout, scoring four-straight points that included an ace by Cat McCoy.

BYU responded by tying the set at 11-11 on a kill by Hamson, then went ahead 12-11 briefly on an ace. Texas re-took the lead, 17-16 on three-straight errors by BYU, then grabbed a 19-17 lead on Ogbogu’s kill from the left side during an 8-0 run that led to the 25-17 win for the Longhorns to pull within 2-1.

Ogbogu led the Longhorns with 14 kills, and Eckerman had nine.

OLMSTEAD EARNS NATIONAL HONOR — Earlier Thursday, BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead was named the AVCA national coach of the year in a ceremony held by the national organization.

Olmstead led the Cougars to a West Coast Conference title, their first Final Four appearance since 1993 and their third-straight Sweet 16. He earned his 100th career win in BYU's NCAA Tournament-victory over Arizona two weeks ago.

Related stories

Most recent Sports stories

Related topics

SportsBYU Cougars
Sean Walker

    ARE YOU GAME?

    From first downs to buzzer beaters, get KSL.com’s top sports stories delivered to your inbox weekly.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast