Match Stats
- #3 BYU def. #8 Stanford 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-23, 26-24)
- BYU moves to 14-2 (8-1 MPSF); Stanford falls to 9-7 (6-5 MPSF)
- Burnham Pavilion, Stanford, California
- Attendance: 1,339
- Match Stats
The 3rd-ranked BYU Cougars knocked off the 8th-ranked Stanford Cardinal 3-1 on Friday in northern California to sweep the season series after a 3-0 victory on Thursday. The Cougars have now won 8 straight games in spite of a run of injuries that includes Ben Patch’s groin, which has kept him out since February 4th; and soreness in Brendan Sander’s knee, which has limited him in both games and practices, including to just 10 swings in 1 set of play on Friday after playing all 3 the night before. Both players are All-Americans.
Jake Langlois continues to play a big part in filling those gaps for those injuries, recording a season-high 38 attacks on Friday. Those netted him out 14 kills on a .237 hitting percentage, part of an overall .224 effort for the Cougars in the win. Langlois had 12 digs as well for his first double-double of the season. Junior Price Jarman joined him in double-figure kills with 10 (.588 percentage), which is the first time in his career that he’s recorded 10+ kills.
Erik Sikes added a career-best 15 kills to the Cougars’ total.
“I’m proud of the way the guys played tonight,” BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “We knew Stanford wasn’t about to throw in the towel after that first set. They’re a really good, disciplined team. We had a great couple of wins this week that helped us get better as a team.”
Unlike the Thursday sweep, Stanford was able to steal a set on Friday thanks to an early run of 6-straight points to push the lead to 8-2. Setter Paul Bischoff contributed to 5 of those 6 points, recording 2 assists, 2 kills, and a block assist in that stretch alone.
In total, Bischoff was the Stanford star of the night, recording his 3rd double double of the season, including 10 digs and a career-high in both kills (4) and blocks (6).
Gabriel Vega led the Cardinal offensively with 14 kills, while Jordan Ewert chipped in 10, but they only hit .176 and .029, respectively. The Cardinal hit at a meager .165 percentage as a team, though BYU was only slightly better at .224.
The Cougars had a big hand in that low percentage for Stanford. They had a whopping 37 block assists (18.5 team blocks) in the game, with Price Jarman and Jake Langlois getting 8 each, and Tim Dobbert and Joseph Grosh picking up 7-a-piece.
Press Releases
Courtesy BYU Athletics:
STANFORD, Calif. – A double-double from senior outside hitter Jake Langlois helped No. 3 BYU men’s volleyball rally past No. 8 Stanford in four sets (25-19, 23-25, 25-23, 26-24) Friday night at the Burnham Pavilion & Ford Center to complete the road series sweep.
“I’m proud of the way the guys played tonight,” BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “We knew Stanford wasn’t about to throw in the towel after that first set. They’re a really good, disciplined team. We had a great couple of wins this week that helped us get better as a team.”
Langlois led the Cougars with 14 kills and 12 digs for a double-double while adding a team-high eight blocks. Erik Sikes collected a career-high 15 digs and Leo Durkin contributed 45 assists. Price Jarman had a career-high 10 kills while adding a season-high eight blocks and Tim Dobbert and Joseph Grosh each added seven blocks in the win.
BYU (14-2, 8-1 MPSF) took a 5-2 lead against Stanford (9-7, 6-5 MPSF) early in the first set with help from two Grosh kills. The teams traded every other point from there until a trio of Cougar points, capped off by a Kiril Meretev kill, extended the BYU advantage to five, 12-7. The Cardinal rallied after a timeout, going on a 7-2 run to knot the set up at 14-all. Back-to-back Grosh and Langlois blocks pushed the Cougars back ahead 18-15, and consecutive Wil Stanley aces brought the lead back to five at 21-16. A Stanford service error then sealed the 25-19 set one win for BYU.
The Cardinal jumped out to an 8-2 lead to start the second set after strong offensive play. The Cougars eventually rallied with an 8-2 run of their own to cut the lead to one, down 13-12, forcing a Stanford timeout along the way. A 5-0 spurt, helped by two Jarman kills, gave BYU its first lead of the set at 18-16. That run was quickly countered with a 6-2 one from the Cardinal, as Stanford took a 22-20 edge. The Cardinal ultimately took the close set 25-23 on a Cougar service error.
A pair of kills each from Langlois, Grosh and Storm Fa’agata-Tufuga helped BYU take a 10-2 lead at the beginning of the third set. Stanford went on a 4-1 run to cut the advantage to five, 13-8, but a Dobbert kill followed to keep the Cougars ahead. Dobbert and Jarman teamed up for a block as BYU maintained its lead 20-14. The Cardinal stayed in the set, then going on a 4-0 run to cut the lead to just two, 20-18. A Langlois kill closed things out with the Cougars at set point, giving BYU a 25-23 set win and a 2-1 lead in the match.
Langlois started the fourth set off with a service ace to give the Cougars the early edge. A block and kill from Fa’agata-Tufuga helped BYU on a 4-0 rally to stay ahead 7-3. Stanford followed with a 5-0 run of its own to take an 8-7 advantage. The set remained neck-and-neck from there as Brenden Sander subbed into the set and collected a kill to tie the score at 11-all. Another Langlois kill tied the set at 19 apiece, and back-to-back Sander kills gave the Cougars a 23-21 edge. The Cardinal picked up an ace on BYU’s first set point, but the Cougars scored the next two points on a Langlois kill and a Jarman and Durkin block to win the set and match 26-24.
The Cougars return home to the Smith Fieldhouse next, facing Cal Baptist Friday, March 3, at 7 p.m. MST. The match will be streamed live on TheW.tv. Links to the video stream and live stats can be found on the BYU men’s volleyball schedule page.
Courtesy Stanford Athletics:
STANFORD, Calif. – No. 8 Stanford challenged third-ranked BYU, but ultimately fell 25-19, 23-25, 25-23, 26-24, Friday in front of a capacity crowd at Burnham Pavilion.
The Cougars (14-2, 8-1 MPSF) racked-up 18.0 blocks, proving to be too much for the Cardinal hitters. BYU held Stanford (9-7, 6-5 MPSF) to a .165 hitting percentage, while posting a .224 clip of its own. The Cardinal held a 54-43 advantage in digs.
Freshman setter Paul Bischoff recorded his third double-double of the season with 35 assists and 10 digs to go with career-highs in kills (4) and blocks (6). Junior libero Evan Enriques anchored the Cardinal defense with 13 digs.
Redshirt senior Gabriel Vega finished with a team-high 14 kills and seven digs, while sophomore outside hitter Jordan Ewert tallied 10 kills and eight digs. Redshirt junior middle blocker Kevin Rakestraw added eight kills, five blocks, four digs and two aces for Stanford.
Playing in his first match since the opening weekend, redshirt junior Clay Jones came off the bench to register seven kills, four digs and a block. Freshman Eric Beatty started the match at opposite, posting four kills and four digs. Freshman middle blocker Stephen Moye hit .300 with three kill and six blocks.
BYU was led by junior Price Jarman, who notched 10 kills on a .588 attack percentage and had a match-best eight blocks. Senior Jake Langlois had a double-double with 14 kills and 12 digs, while also collecting eight blocks for the Cougars.
Stanford hits the road next week for a couple of nonconference matches in State College, Pennsylvania. The Cardinal will face Lees-McRae on Friday, March 3 at 2:30 p.m. PT and Penn State on Saturday, March 4 at 4:30 p.m.
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