COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 3 seed BYU men’s volleyball fell to No. 1 seed Ohio State in straight sets (25-19, 25-20, 25-22) Saturday night at St. John Arena in the national championship match.

"Congrats to Ohio State on an outstanding season," BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. "They definitely played a better volleyball match than we did tonight. I feel for these guys. I wish it was a different result, but it's not. How we handle these losses will show a lot about us as a team."

Jake Langlois led the Cougars with eight kills. Leo Durkin contributed 24 assists and Ben Patch added six kills and three aces.

Ohio State (32-2) got off to a 5-2 lead in the first set after a few miscues from BYU (26-5). The Cougars then went on a 5-1 run to take a 7-6 advantage, but the Buckeyes countered with a 10-2 rally to go back up 16-9. A Langlois kill helped BYU go on a 5-1 run to get back within five, trailing 20-15. Ohio State closed out the set 25-19, however, on a Cougar service error.    

Three kills from Tim Dobbert helped keep BYU in the second set, trailing 8-7 early. The Buckeyes then went on a 5-1 run to take a 13-8 lead. A 4-0 Ohio State run gave it an 18-11 advantage, forcing a Cougar timeout. Patch picked up three aces at the service line for BYU, bringing the Cougars back within three, down 21-18. The rally proved too late as the Buckeyes took the set 25-20 on a BYU attack error.  

A Langlois overpass kill got things started in the third set. The teams traded shots back-and-forth as a Brenden Sander kill gave the Cougars a 10-9 edge. A Kiril Meretev ace kept BYU within one, down 16-15, but a 7-3 Ohio State run ensued to give it a 23-18 lead. With Patch at the service line, the Cougars scored consecutive points on overpass kills to get back within two, 23-21. Again, the rally wasn’t enough as the Buckeyes won the set and match 25-22.

Ohio State collected the national championship for the second-consecutive season with the win. Following the conclusion of the match, Sander was named to the all-tournament team.

PROVO, Utah—BYU men’s volleyball secured an at-large bid to the 2017 NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championships Sunday, receiving the No. 3 seed.

BYU (24-4) will play No. 6 seed Barton (23-5) Tuesday, May 2, at 6 p.m. EDT. The Cougars have never faced the Bulldogs before. It will also be the first meeting for BYU against a Conference Carolinas foe.

Should the Cougars advance, they would face No. 2 seed Long Beach State (27-3) in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, May 4, at 6 p.m. EDT.

Ohio State was given the No. 1 overall seed after going 30-2 overall, winning both the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association regular season and tournament titles.

The Buckeyes will face the winner of No. 4 seed Hawai’i (26-5) and No. 5 seed Penn State (21-10) on Thursday, May 4, at 8 p.m. EDT. The play-in match between the Rainbow Warriors and Nittany Lions will be held right after BYU’s match on Tuesday, May 2, at 8 EDT.

The semifinal matches will be streamed live on NCAA.com, with ESPNU broadcasting the final match Saturday, May 6, at 7 p.m. EDT.

All matches will be played at Ohio State’s St. John Arena.

Long Beach State (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation), Ohio State (MIVA), Penn State (Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) and Barton (CC) all received automatic bids for winning their respective conference championships. BYU and Hawai’i received the two at-large bids.

Ticket Information

All Session Prices: (includes both semifinals Thursday & championship Saturday)

• General Admission – Adult $25
• General Admission – Student/Youth $15
• General Admission – Group (minimum 10 people) $8

• General Admission – Adult $15
• General Admission – Student/Youth $10
• General Admission – Group (minimum 10 people) $5

• General Admission – Adult $8
• General Admission – Student/Youth $5

Additionally, there will be a fan fest at the Ohio State Ice Rink, located next door to St. John Arena, Saturday, May 6, from 4-6 p.m. EDT. It is free to attend. There will be face painting, sign making and an autograph session (5-5:30 p.m. for the general public and 4:30-5 p.m. exclusively for group sales). The court will also be open to pepper.

To purchase tickets visit the Ohio State Athletics Ticket Office, the Ticketmaster site, or call 1-800-GOBUCKS. The on-campus ticket office is open Monday through Friday, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. EDT.

Doors will open one hour prior to the first match each day. Parking in St. John Arena lots will be free for every match.