PROVO, Utah – After coming off a three set loss Friday, the Eagles were looking to challenge the Cougars and tie the series at one each. BYU won the match-up in four with final scores 25-19, 21-25, 18-25, and 22-25.
Erik Boisvert led the Eagles with 16 kills while hitting an impressive .429 and three digs from the back row.
Jonathan Carlson finished with 11 kills and only one error making his hitting percentage .455 for the match. Carlson put up four blocks throughout that came at critical moments for the Eagles to keep them within reach and dug up six.
Three middles played a pivotal role for CUI as
Mason Mullins threw down five kills. Freshman
Max McCullough put up six blocks at the net along with
Gil Herold contributing one. Setter
McLain Mott had 31 assists in four sets and picked up five digs while strategically adding a kill.
Serving was the name of the game in the first set as the Eagles would take advantage of BYU serving errors. The Cougars came out strong in the first set until Mott went to the back line to serve two consecutive aces and two kills from Carlson to bring the Eagles within two.
Slater Fuhrman came into the match to serve and went on a run to take the lead by one. Another run by Mott extended their lead and led to the first set victory.
The following two sets went in favor for the Cougars as they held the Eagles from going on runs and took the lead 2-1 in set. The Eagles came out fighting for the fourth set to take BYU to five. Carlson started the fourth set off with a solo block to earn the first point for the Green and Gold. An overpass kill from Boisvert brought them within just two at the media timeout. Another block by Carlson and Herold ties the set at 17 a-piece. The score toggled until the end and went in favor of the Cougars as they closed out the match by a close score 22-25.
The Green and Gold will play in two non-conference match-ups next week and start against Ottawa (Kan.) on Thursday, Mar. 17 at 7 p.m. in the CU Arena. The following day they will face off versus No. 2 Long Beach State in the Walter Pyramid.
To see the full CUI men's volleyball schedule, click
HERE.
