BYU Roundup: Olmstead ties McGown for most wins in men’s volleyball victory
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- BYU men’s volleyball coach Shawn Olmstead addresses his team in a time out during the 2026 season.
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- The BYU women’s gymnastics team competed in the Tempe Regionals in Tempe, Ariz., on Thursday, April 2, 2026.
COSTA MESA, Calif. — No. 10 BYU men’s volleyball swept Vanguard (25-17, 25-15, 25-20) on Thursday, giving Shawn Olmstead his 205th career victory. That ties Cougar coaching legend Carl McGown for most men’s volleyball coaching wins in school history
BYU made quick work of Vanguard, with the match lasting just one hour and 13 minutes. The Cougars are now 18-8 this season and 5-4 in MPSF play.
Connor Oldani led BYU with 11 kills on 27 swings with no errors (.407). Teilon-Jonathan Tufuga added eight kills, AJ Cottle had five and both Trent Moser and Gavin Chambers had four. Tufuga also had a career-high five aces in the match. Jackson Fife tied his career high with 12 digs in the match. The senior has hit that mark five times in his career. Cottle led BYU with six blocks in the match. BYU outhit Vanguard .291 to .077.
BYU started out on fire with Tyler Herget serving and the Cougars racking up the first five points of the match. The run included kills by Tufuga and Oldani along with a Herget ace. BYU would maintain a three-to-seven point cushion for the rest of the set. Oldani won the set for BYU with a kill from the back row, his fourth kill on eight swings so far, securing the set at 25-17.
The second set was tied at 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, 6-6 and 7-7. The first two-point lead of the set came off an Oldani kill to make it 9-7 for BYU. Vanguard bounced back with a kill of its own and then Cottle responded with a kill to make it 10-8. BYU ended the set on a 13-4 run, with a Tufuga ace finishing things off to win the set 25-15.
A 6-0 run with kills from Moser and Oldani and back-to-back aces from Tufuga got BYU out to a 10-4 lead in the third set, and that was pretty much all the Cougars needed.
Tennison Lighthall and Cole Hauser subbed into the set late, with Houser getting the decisive kill to win the match for the Cougars.
Gymnastics finishes third in Tempe Regional
TEMPE, Arizona — BYU gymnastics finished in third place at the Tempe Regional with a score of 196.250 on Thursday afternoon at Desert Financial Arena.
Michigan State won the session with a 197.350 highlighted by a perfect 10.0 on vault, followed by Georgia with a 197.125. SUU rounded out the group with a 195.725.
MSU and Georgia will advance to the Tempe Regional Final on Saturday, Apr. 4. They will compete against the top two teams from tonight’s semifinal competition between Florida, Cal, Penn State and Arizona State.
In her final competition for BYU, senior Kylie Eaquinto scored a 39.325 in the all-around. Alilah Alvarado’s final competition as a Cougar was highlighted by her 9.8 on beam.
Baylor holds onto early lead to top Cougar baseball
WACO, Texas – Baylor defeated BYU 12-5 Thursday in Game 1 of a three-game Big 12 baseball series at Magnolia Field at Baylor Ballpark.
Baylor (17-12, 6-4) scored 12 runs on 13 hits while stranding 12 runners. BYU (13-15, 4-6) plated five runs on eight hits while leaving nine on base.
Baylor jumped out to an early lead, scoring two runs on a single and a home run in the bottom of the first inning for a 2-0 advantage.
After a scoreless second inning, BYU cut the lead in half in the top of the third on a solo home run by Ridge Erickson. The Bears answered in the bottom half of the inning on a triple and another home run for a 4-1 lead.
Baylor pushed its lead to 7-1 in the fourth, taking advantage of three walks and three hits to post three runs. BYU responded with two runs in the fifth inning to close the gap to 7-3. Matt Hansen singled to left and scored one out later on a double down the left-field line by Erickson. With two outs Ezra McNaughton then doubled down the right-field line to bring home Erickson.
The Bears responded with another run in the fifth and tacked on two more in the sixth to take a 10-3 lead. The Cougars fought back with a run in the top of the seventh, but back-to-back strikeouts ended the threat with two runners aboard.
After holding BU scoreless in the seventh, BYU picked up a run in the eighth on an Erickson sacrifice fly that scored Keoni Painter, for a 10-5 score. Baylor answered back with two insurance runs in the bottom of the inning.
No. 2 Texas Tech routs Cougar softball
LUBBOCK, Texas — BYU softball fell to No. 2 Texas Tech in game one, 11-1 in six innings at Tracy Sellers Field on Thursday night.
The Cougars (11-23, 2-8 Big 12) scored the game’s first run before surrendering the next 11 to the Red Raiders, including a six-run sixth inning.
BYU started things off plating a run as Danica Acosta lined a single past the diving glove of Texas Tech’s left fielder, advancing to second base. Lily Owens doubled down the left field line three pitches to score Acosta.
TTU answered back with three runs on no hits, loaded the bases on a trio of five-pitch walks before a wild pitch and two infield groundouts.
The Red Raiders added another run in the fourth on an inside the park home run, making it 4-1.
Loading the bases once more in the fifth on a walk, single and Cougar fielding error, Texas Tech gained a 5-1 advantage on a sacrifice fly before a 4-6-3 double play got BYU out of the jam.
TTU added two in the sixth after drawing two bases-loaded walks, two of four in the frame, to go along with a bunt single. A pitch later the Red Raiders walked it off on a grand slam, 11-1.
