This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
State College, Pa. • BYU volleyball fans now have their version of Steve Bartman, the Chicago Cubs fan who attempted to catch a foul ball and disrupted a potential catch by Cubs outfielder Moises Alou in a 2003 postseason baseball game.
In Saturday's 3-0 loss to Ohio State in the NCAA Men's Volleyball Division I-II championship game, a BYU fan interfered on a play that may or may not have cost the Cougars a point. Seemingly, it did cost the Cougars a lot of momentum, and they dropped the second set after leading it 19-16 and 20-17.
With BYU ahead 20-18, Ben Patch smashed a kill that ricocheted off an Ohio State player and toward the stands to his right. As OSU's Miles Johnson chased after the ball, a BYU fan in the front row waved her pom-pom at it, disrupting Johnson's attempt to save it.
Officials elected to play the point over, and OSU won it, cutting the deficit to 20-19 instead of trailing 21-18. The Buckeyes won six of the next seven points and claimed the set 25-23.
Johnson said the officials made the right call, and replied "yeah, for sure," when asked if he would have gotten to the ball if not for the fan getting in the way.
"There was a lot going on," Johnson said, noting that he had to dodge a photographer and got a "palm frond" in the face.
The Cougars refused to use the sudden turn of events as an excuse, saying it was not the reason they lost the set, let alone the match.
"I mean, fans are always fun to have in games, either way, for either team," said sophomore Brenden Sander. "They get us a lot more hyped for games. It is fun, getting a kill and having them excited, even if they go for the other team, it is fun feeding off that as well."
Although there were clearly more BYU fans in attendance than OSU fans, Buckeyes coach Pete Hanson said it "felt like a home match" for his team. It sounded that way in the third set, as BYU fans looked on in silent disbelief and OSU fans celebrated their outstanding season.
Although the Cougars briefly protested the call after it was made, BYU setter Leo Durkin said it didn't affect them emotionally.
"The talk on the court was, hey, we gotta stay on our side of the court, stay focused," he said. "And things just really didn't go our way at the end there. The match just came down to serve-receive, like it always does in volleyball. That's just the nature of the game."
BYU's Ben Patch and Sander made the all-tournament team, along with OSU's Blake Leeson and Nicolas Szerszen. Johnson won the most valuable player award, which was fitting since he was involved in the most memorable play.
Twitter: @drewjay