“It was nice to have Miks back out there on the court from start to finish,” said BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead. “He did a great job for the team tonight. It’s exciting to get conference play rolling. We’ve been happy with our nonconference matches and all that we’ve learned about this group.”

The Cougars (9-4) were led by senior outside hitter Miks Ramanis with a match-high 16 kills on a .577 hitting percentage, including a team-high of two aces. Teon Taylor led BYU’s defense with another match-high of five blocks.

BYU outhit the Golden Eagles with a .340 hitting percentage compared to CUI’s team clip of .174. The Cougars also collected more blocks in the match, with 11 blocks over CUI’s eight.

BYU led the entire way into the first media timeout of Set 1 at 15-9, with Teilon-Jonathan Tufuga leading with two kills. The Cougars improved to an eight-point lead after going on a 4-0 run to force a CUI timeout at 19-11, featuring a block by Ethan Gant.

A stuff block by Taylor took the score to 23-14 for BYU’s third block of the night. The Golden Eagles were able to fight through one BYU set-point until a kill by Taylor would conclude the first set 25-16, with BYU delivering a wire-to-wire win.

CUI began the second set by going on a 3-0 run until the Cougars answered with a run of their own to gain an early advantage at 4-3. Neither team could gain anything larger than a one-point lead, and later Benson would earn his fifth kill to tie it at 14.

After a media timeout at 15-14, BYU was forced to call its first timeout when trailing by two 19-17 following a Golden Eagle ace. BYU generated a 3-0 run courtesy of a Tufuga kill, Benson block and Ramanis kill to take back a 21-20 lead for a CUI timeout.

The Cougars would clinch a set two win off an ace by Ramanis for a 25-23 victory, gaining a 2-0 lead.

CUI found a spark in the third set with a 6-2 lead highlighted by back-to-back aces, forcing an early BYU timeout. A 3-0 run by the Golden Eagles upped their lead to 14-7, forcing another BYU timeout. Keoni Thiim entered the match off the bench and gave the Cougars some momentum, recording a kill immediately following the timeout.

Mutiple service errors by BYU gave the Golden Eagles an eight-point lead at 19-11. Another momentum-changing run by the Golden Eagles took the score to 23-12. Kills by Tufuga and Herget kept BYU alive, but a Cougar service error would close the third set 25-17, with CUI extending the match into a fourth set.

Ian Little entered in Set 4 off BYU’s bench to give the Cougars a boost, immediately recording two kills for a 5-4 score, with BYU trailing by one. Two kills and an ace by Ramanis would later even the score at six. The teams would battle back-and-forth, heading 15-14 into the media timeout and the Cougars pulling ahead by just one.

A 4-1 run by BYU would aid a 20-16 score in favor of the Cougars, forcing a CUI timeout. Back-to-back kills by Ramanis and Little would give BYU the 25-17 win, securing a 3-1 victory.

The Cougars will face CUI once more on Friday at 7 p.m. PT, with live coverage on Big10+. A subscription is required to stream the match.

Softball moves to 5-0 with 1-0 victory against Illinois State

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mex. — A Bre Townsend RBI in the fifth inning helped BYU softball past Illinois State in game two of the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, 1-0.

In a pitcher’s dual that saw starter Kaysen Korth toss five and a third of shutout ball, the Cougars (5-0, 0-0 Big 12) finally broke through in the fifth inning with singles from Hailey Morrow and Townsend to remain unbeaten.

BYU had runners aboard in the first and third innings and went down in order in the second and fourth frames.

The Cougars got things going in the top of the fifth when Morrow roped a single over the top of the ISU third baseman’s glove, sliding into third after a fielding error in left field. Townsend singled through the left side a batter later, scoring Morrow, the game’s only run.

After a leadoff Redbird single in the bottom of the sixth that was erased by center fielder Lily Owens’ relay throw into second baseman Tristen Turlington, Jada Villegas came on in relief and included four groundouts to go along with one strikeout, earning her first collegiate save.

The Cougars will play in the final game of the night on Friday, an 8:30 p.m. CT first pitch against Boise State with streaming on FloCollege.