Dobbert's 14 kills give BYU another three-set win over McKendree

PROVO, Utah -- Tim Dobbert’s 14 kills led No. 4 BYU men's volleyball past McKendree for its third three-set win (25-23, 25-22, 25-17) in as many days Saturday night at the Smith Fieldhouse.

"I was excited to get lots of guys opportunities to play," BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. "I like how the guys responded and played. We need to shore things up a little bit, improve in our passing and the typical little things. Overall though, I was pleased with our effort tonight."

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Dobbert set a new season-high in kills and came just one kill shy of his career high as the Cougars (4-1) hit a .333 clip compared to the Bearcats’ .200 clip. Price Jarman led BYU with four blocks and tacked on seven kills as Leo Durkin tallied 32 assists and two blocks on the night.

The first set was tight throughout, as BYU’s 23-20 advantage was the only 3-point lead for either team. A key sequence of a kill and a dig by Dobbert on back-to-back points erased a 20-19 McKendree lead. With the Cougars up 24-23, It was Dobbert who closed out the set with another kill.

BYU gained a big lead early in the second set, with a 10-5 edge before a Bearcat timeout. McKendree gradually clawed back to cut the lead to 15-14. The Cougars scored five of the next seven points to lead 20-16, but the Bearcats again responded to narrow the gap to 22-21. From there, BYU had a 3-0 run on a McKendree service error, a kill by Joseph Grosh and a block by Jarman and Kiril Meretev. After one more Bearcat point, Dobbert capped another set with a kill for a 25-22 Cougar win.

With the third set tied 10-10, a kill by Grosh sparked three-straight points for BYU. After a Dobbert kill put the Cougars up 14-11, BYU maintained a lead of at least three points the rest of the way. The Cougars scored seven of the last nine points to win the set 25-17, as Zach Eschenberg’s kill closed out the match.

BYU next plays on Thursday at Cal State Northridge at 6 p.m. PST. That match will be streamed at GoMatadors.com and a link to live stats can be found on the BYU men’s volleyball schedule page.