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COLUMBUS, Ohio — There was a point during the 2017 men’s volleyball season when BYU outside hitter Brenden Sander could hardly move because of injuries.
He moved plenty well Thursday night, when it mattered the most — in the NCAA tournament.
Sander grabbed a match-high 15 kills, including the match-winner, to lead No. 3 BYU to a 25-20, 25-18, 25-23 win over second-ranked Long Beach State in Ohio State’s St. John Arena.
“We’ve been able to see little by little a hunger and leadership,” BYU coach Shawn Olmstead said of Sander. “He’s a quiet kid, but he leads by example. We’ve seen it more and more in practice, and we talk about it as coaches. It’s the same leadership as others; he’ll carry you, and ride with it.”
After back-to-back sweeps, the Cougars (26-4) advanced to the NCAA championship match for the second consecutive season, and will take on No. 1 Ohio State (30-2) at 5 p.m. MDT Saturday on ESPN2.
Sander had just two errors on 21 attack attempts Thursday, and helped the Cougars hit .426 with just nine total errors.
“I just played kind of free,” Sander said. “There was no pressure, really. All of my guys helped me out, and we were all together as a team.”
Tim Dobbert added 11 kills and three digs, and Jake Langlois had seven kills, four aces and four digs for BYU, which avenged a 3-0 sweep at home to the 49ers in March.
“I think we became much more of a team than just individuals,” Sander told reporters after the match. “Tonight, I felt like all 15 of us were 100 percent ready to go, and I think that’s going to help us through the finals.”
Leo Durkin dished out 24 assists with four digs for BYU, and teammate Eric Sikes had eight digs.
Just as impressively, the Cougars dominated across the middle, holding the AVCA middle hitter of the year Amir Lugo-Rodriguez to just two kills and two blocks.
AVCA player of the year TJ DeFalco tied Kyle Ensing with a team-high 12 kills for the 49ers (27-4), but Long Beach State’s vaunted attack got out of system early and never fully recovered.
“To hold those middles — those All-Americans — to those numbers is pretty remarkable,” said Olmstead, whose side held Long Beach to .215 hitting. “Credit to my assistants for all they put into the scouting report and getting these guys ready.
“You can’t let TJ go; he’s a huge part of this team. But I like what we did to this team.”
When BYU faces the Buckeyes in the national championship match, it will mark the second-straight such matchup between the two teams. Then-No. 2 Ohio State upset then-No. 1 BYU, 3-0, in last year’s title match at Penn State.
There’s little doubt the Cougars have thought about a potential rematch with the Buckeyes. But Olmstead said his players haven’t shown any sign looking ahead to Saturday’s final.
“Yeah, they got us last year, and we want to get one back,” Olmstead said. “But in reality, we’ve stayed focused on each opponent. Conference play is cutthroat, and you can’t take anything from it.
“I haven’t heard anything from these guys about Ohio State. I’m sure they talk about it.”
