#13 UC Santa Barbara Sweeps #6 BYU; Long Beach, UCI Also Dominate

#13 UC Santa Barbara def. #6 BYU 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 27-25)

• UCSB moves to 4-3; BYU falls to 5-4
• Santa Barbara, California
• Box Score
• UCSB Recap / BYU Recap

Key Stats: Six players tallied kills with five hitting .375 or better for UC Santa Barbara in the sweep. The Gauchos outhit the Cougars .312 to .230, outblocked them 6 to 4.5 and bested them in aces (6-3). BYU downed two more kills (39-37). With the sweep, UCSB became just the fourth team in the last 10 years to beat the Cougars 3-0 at home.

Stat Leaders: Sophomore middle Keenan Sanders tallied a team-best 11 kills for UCSB. Sophomore outside Roy McFarland added nine kills and two aces, while junior outside Corey Chavers added seven putaways, but hit .000 for the match. Sophomore setter Randy DeWeese chipped in four kills, five digs and a team-best four blocks to go with his 31 assist tally.

Freshman opposite Gabi Garcia Fernandez and senior outside Brenden Sander notched 12 kills apiece to lead BYU. Garcia Fernandez also served up two of the team’s three aces. Senior middle Price Garman added nine kills on a match-best .615 hitting effort (9-1-13). Sophomore middle Miki Jauhianen put up a team-leading three blocks.

It Was Over When: UCSB led by as many as four in Set 3 (12-8 and 17-13), but the match was far from over. BYU rallied with 10 of the next 14 points, including three putaways and an ace by Garcia Fernandez and two kills by Sander. Now trailing 23-21, the Gauchos scored three in a row on a service error and two hitting miscues. A Storm Fa’agata-Tufuga kill and another by Sander thwarted two set-point tries (24-23, and 25-24). A service error coupled with a stuff by Connor Drake and DeWeese gave the visitors the upset.

“I’m disappointed and so are the players,” BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “We had dug ourselves into some holes. We were able to score at the end, but we just didn’t come out like that in the beginning. Major hats off to UC Santa Barbara. They came out swinging and they were prepared. Tonight, they were the better team, hands down.”

MVB: ? & ? for some #GauchoPride!

No. 14 #UCSB the #BIGWIN with a SWEEP at No. 6 BYU behind Keenan Sanders' 11 kills! Rematch Saturday in Provo, 6pm PT.#GauchoPride | #BWCMVB | #PlayBig ?? pic.twitter.com/gmz373nY9x

— Big West Conference (@BigWestSports) February 3, 2018

#3 UC Irvine def. #20 Stanford 3-0 (25-12, 26-24, 25-19)

• UC Irvine moves to 10-1; Stanford  falls to 1-8
• Irvine, California
• Box Score
• UC Irvine Recap / Stanford Recap

Key Stats: UC Irvine hit .403 and stifled Stanford with 14 blocks in the home sweep, which marked UCI’s eighth-straight win. The Anteaters outdid the Cardinal 43-30 in kills, .403 to .084 in hitting percentage and 14-3 in blocks. Both teams served up three aces.

Stat Leaders: Junior opposite Karl Apfelbach notched 12 kills and added four blocks and two aces to pace UC Irvine. Freshman outside Joel Schneidmiller, senior outside Aaron Koubi and sophomore middle Scott Stadick each added nine putaways. Stadick rounded out a double-double with 10 blocks, while hitting .467. All four players hit .278 or better.

Freshman outside Jaylen Jasper led a group of five Stanford players with five or more kills. Jasper downed seven kills, while junior setter Russell Dervay (6), freshman middle Kyler Presho (6), redshirt senior middle Kevin Rakestraw (5) and sophomore outside Eric Beatty (5) rounded out the group. Dervay was a perfect 6-for-6 in kills, while Presho hit at a .545 clip (6-0-11). Rakestraw accounted for a team-leading two blocks.

It Was Over When: A 6-1 run helped UC Irvine pull away to a 13-7 lead with two Stadick blocks and kills by three different players. A Dervay putaway and UCI miscue cut the margin to four at 13-9, but that was as close as Stanford would get. Kills by Koubi and Stadick pushed the Anteater lead to eight at 23-15. Two Jasper putaways and a hitting error had the Cardinal within four at 23-18, but Stadick and Apfelbach scored two of the next three to wrap up the match.

Keyword: Dante ?. Hear from Scott on the team’s performance tonight. pic.twitter.com/YVUzoWwd9i

— UCI M Volleyball (@UCImvb) February 3, 2018

#1 Long Beach State def. #18 Concordia-Irvine 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-13)

• Long Beach, California
• Box Score
• Long Beach State Recap / Concordia Recap

Key Stats: Long Beach State extended its win streak to 10, matching the team’s best start since 1999, behind a pair of individual double-doubles and a dominating all-around effort. LBSU doubled Concordia’s kill output (44-22), while hitting at an efficient .430 clip. The 49ers also outserved the Eagles 8-0 and outblocked them 8-2.

Stat Leaders: Junior outside TJ DeFalco did it all for the 49ers, notching a team-best 12 kills, while hitting at a .500 clip and rounding out a double-double with 12 digs and four aces. Junior opposite Kyle Ensing chipped in 11 kills and four blocks, while redshirt junior middle Nick Amado tallied seven putaways and four stuffs. Junior setter Josh Tuaniga accounted for 21 assists and 11 digs.

Redshirt sophomore outside Raymond Barsemian paced Concordia with 12 kills, while senior outside Jonathan Predney (5) and junior middle Hunter Howell (4) rounded out the offense. Howell hit at a team-best .364 clip, while senior libero Jacob Weiser led the defense with 10 digs.

It Was Over When: Set 3 was just a two-point game at 8-6, before LBSU pulled away with a 10-2 run. DeFalco notched five kills in the stretch, which also included aces by Carlos Rivera and Simon Anderson. Long Beach never looked back, boosting the margin to 13 at 24-11 after back to back Davis Cannon putaways. It took three points to close out the sweep with a service error clinching it after a pair of 49er miscues extended the set.

Hawaii def. Academy United 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-16)

• Honolulu, Hawaii
• Box Score
• Hawaii Recap

Key Stats: Hawaii notched an exhibition win over Academy United at its own Waikiki Beachcomber by Outrigger Classic on Friday with a .400 hitting effort and 11 blocks. The Rainbow Warriors did not allow an ace and only gave up two blocks in the win. Hawaii outhit Academy .400 to .213 and outdid its foe in kills (48-34), aces (2-0) and blocks (11-2).

Stat Leaders: Junior outside Stijn van Tilburg drove the Rainbow Warrior train with 12 kills and five blocks. Junior outside Brett Rosenmeier (9) and junior middle Dalton Solbrig (8) followed. Rosenmeier hit at a .533 clip with just one error, while Solbrig added five stuffs. Redshirt sophomore middle Patrick Gasman also chipped in five blocks.

Tony Ciarelli turned in 12 kills for Academy United, while Maddison McKibbin (6), Tim May (5) and Peter Edwards (5) followed.

It Was Over When: Hawaii jumped ahead 11-4 in Set 3, but it was not all smooth sailing as the Academy cut the margin to one at 23-22. Ausin Matautia downed a kill and Solbrig came through win an ace to get the Rainbow Wahine out of the match with a sweep.