Cougars open season with exhibition sweep

PROVO, Utah - Taylor Sander led BYU men's volleyball with 12 kills and three aces as the Cougars beat Winnipeg 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-21) in their first exhibition match of the season.

Three other BYU hitters finished with five kills, including Carson Heninger, Michael Hatch and Devin Young. Hatch led the team in blocks with five, while Tim Dobbert, Joe Grosh and Heninger each had four. Josue Rivera, Phil Fuchs and Grosh added service aces for the Cougars.

BYU finished the first set on a 13-7 run to win 25-19. After leading 18-16, the Cougars streaked to a 24-17 lead thanks to a kill from Sander and Tim Dobbert, three blocks and a hitting error by Winnipeg.

BYU ended the second set on a 16-4 run with dominant hitting and a few errors from Winnipeg. An initial 5-0 run took the Cougars from down two to up three at 14-11. BYU extended the lead to 10 with the winning margin of 25-15. Heninger finished off the set with three kills in the final seven points.