Jokes and good-natured ribbing flowed easily among Patch, Langlois, libero Erik Sikes and their coach in Wednesday's 20-minute news conference, a far cry from a year ago at Penn State's Rec Hall when the Cougars were big favorites and had a more no-nonsense approach.
Olmstead's team, which improved to 25-4 with Tuesday's 3-0 pummeling of Barton, is considered the underdog Thursday because LBSU swept them 3-0 on March 25 in Provo, a night after the Cougars had eked out a 3-2 decision over the 49ers at jam-packed Smith Fieldhouse.
"We respect every single team that we play, and approach [LBSU] with the same mindset and respect, definitely," Patch said.