STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) Miles Johnson had 15 kills and Ohio State beat BYU 32-30, 25-23, 25-17 on Saturday night to win its second NCAA volleyball title.
Blake Leeson added 11 kills and national player of the year Nicolas Szerszen and Driss Guessous each had 10 to help the second-ranked Buckeyes (31-3) close the season with their 23rd straight victory. They also won the 2011 title.
''The kids just played flawlessly and I'm just so proud of them,'' Ohio State coach Pete Hanson said. ''They just earned every point and earned a national championship tonight. ... We didn't believe there was a team out here that could handle the servers that we had - that would be able to see and withstand that pressure over time.''
Brenden Sander had 14 kills for top-ranked BYU (27-4). The Cougars won titles in 1999, 2001 and 2004.
Ohio State overcame two three-point deficits to win the first set. In the third, the Buckeyes raced to a 20-12 lead with the help of five aces before Leeson notched the final two kills to end the match.
''Hats off to Ohio State,'' BYU coach Shawn Olmstead said. ''They put together a remarkable season. They were absolutely the better team tonight. These are the moments when you have to dig deep and be as composed as you can. They put a lot of pressure on us that we just couldn't overcome in the end. I'm proud of the guys for an outstanding season.''
