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BYU improved to 2-0 on the season as it defeated No. 14 Ball State in straight sets at home, two nights after doing the same against No. 7/7 Ohio State.
Last year’s BYU team that made it to the NCAA Tournament semifinals lost three starters – outside attacker Brenden Sander, middle attacker Price Jarman, and setter Leo Durkin. Coming into the 2019 season, there were questions about how well about these holes would be filled.
The Cougars attacked at an impressive .313 clip last year, Durkin’s senior season. After two seasons mostly used as a serving substitute, it’s now Stanley’s time to quarterback the BYU offense.
Early returns are promising for the Cougars, especially at the setter position. Against Ohio State, BYU attacked at a .325 clip, and against Ball State, it attacked at a .375 clip.
Ball State has certainly challenged themselves early in the non-conference schedule, by playing three teams currently ranked in the national coaches poll – UC Irvine, Stanford, and BYU – in additional to playing EIVA preseason favorite, Princeton.
Even though the Cardinals were swept in both of their matches out west this weekend, they were encouraged by what they saw out of freshman outside attacker Kaleb Jenness. Jenness has 13 kills and five blocks on the trip, and ranks third on the team in both statistical categories.
Check out our interviews with both players conducted by special contributor, Rae Loverde after the BYU versus Ball State match on Saturday night.