The year 2018 probably seems like a lifetime ago for BYU women’s volleyball coach Heather Olmstead, but there are plenty of reminders on her 2021 roster of that magical season.

The Cougars upset No. 1 Stanford early and rode that victory to the top ranking for much of the season. BYU advanced to the Final Four before falling to that same Cardinal team, which went on to win the national title.

As the Cougars move on to the Sweet 16 on Thursday against No. 6 seed Purdue, Olmstead believes that her veteran team can use the lessons learned three years ago.

“I would think we’ve got a lot of experience on our team from top to bottom just playing in the NCAA Tournament and I think that experience is valuable,” Olmstead said. “Especially when you’ve got the jitters and you’re playing a team that you haven’t seen all year. I think that really helps just calm our team down and give us confidence that we’ve got players that have been in the tournament before and that have won big time matches.”

There are five players on the current Cougar roster that were a part of the 2018 team: Senior outside hitter Taylen Ballard-Nixon, junior middle blocker Heather Gneiting, senior middle blocker Kennedy Eschenberg, senior setter Tayler Hifo and senior middle blocker Whitney Llarenas.

Gneiting had a spectacular debut in 2018, totaling 225 kills (2.12 per set) while hitting .380. She added 159 total blocks (1.50 per set) and was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association Freshman of the Year.

“I think it helps me to know what to expect and that people will come to the gym fighting really hard,” Gneiting said. “We’ve just got to focus on doing our game and we’ve been doing a lot of good things in our gym right now. I think a lot of things are clicking. We’re getting better. Playing that Final Four and getting that far has definitely left an impact on me of just playing to my strengths, but being aware that everyone is also just playing to win.”

Eschenberg, a redshirt sophomore at the time, started in the middle along with Gneiting and averaged 1.92 kills per set (while hitting .345) and 1.32 blocks per set. Ballard-Nixon played in 18 sets during the season while Hifo and Llarenas redshirted.

Olmstead said this spring’s experience in the NCAA Tournament will also be a benefit since nearly the entire roster returned for the fall campaign.

“Getting to play Wisconsin, the No. 1 seed in April, with the majority of these girls was a good thing for us in playing two seasons in one year,” Olmstead said. “It’s so unique. I think playing a ton of volleyball has been able to give us that confidence and we always want to see how good we can be. We’ve got some great pieces and we’re curious to see how good this team can be. There’s been a lot of talk about how good this team is or isn’t. I think the proof is in the pudding and we’ve got to get out and perform our very best against good teams and our team is excited for that challenge.”

Scouting Report

No. 11 seed BYU (30-1) returns to the scene of its only loss this season: Fitzgerald Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh. Playing its second match of the day (and without Ballard-Nixon, who was unavailable) the Cougars dropped an intense 3-1 decision to the Panthers, who were ranked No. 4 at the time, on Sept. 10. Every set was competitive as Pittsburgh finally prevailed 25-21, 25-21, 20-25, 26-24.

Before the Cougars can consider a revenge effort they’ll have to take on a very talented Purdue squad in the Sweet 16. The Boilermakers swept Illinois State in the first round but had to rally past Dayton in the second, coming back from a 2-0 deficit for a reverse sweep.

Purdue boasts three first team All-Big Ten players in 6-1 senior outside hitter Caitlyn Newton (3.93 kills per set), 6-3 senior outside hitter Grace Cleveland (3.15 kills per set) and 5-10 senior setter Hayley Bush (10.22 assists per set).

The Boilermakers (25-6) average 3.0 blocks per set, third in the country.

“I think we’re always prepared to play great blocking teams,” Olmstead told BYU Sports Nation on Wednesday. “We’ve done that in our conference. Our offense is trained to hit high and hard like everyone else in the country wants to do. I think they (Purdue) do a great job blocking and they do a great job defensively. They’re scrappy and they’re gritty. We’re going to keep bringing our offensive game plan that we bring every match and distribute the ball, take great swings and take smart swings.”

BYU is the No. 1 team in the country in hitting percentage defense (.120) and No. 3 in the rankings in hitting percentage (.338). On Nov. 29, 6-3 senior opposite hitter Kenzie Koerber was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year and was joined on the first team by Ballard-Nixon, Eschenberg, Gneiting and junior setter Whitney Bower.

Women’s College Volleyball

Sweet 16

No. 11 BYU (30-1) vs. No. 6 Purdue (25-6)

Fitzgerald Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh, Pa.

TV: ESPNU, 9 a.m. MT

Live stats: byucougars.com

The Word: BYU leads the overall series with Purdue 4-1. … The last meeting took place in 2015, a 3-0 Cougar victory. … The other match in the regional semifinals in No. 1 seed Pitt against Kansas, which upset No. 14 seed Creighton in the second round. … The winners will play in the regional finals on Saturday in Pittsburgh.