#3 BYU Rolls Through #8 Stanford In A Three Set Sweep

Match Stats

• #3 BYU def. #8 Stanford 3-0, (25-21, 25-20, 25-21)
• BYU improves to 13-2, 7-1 MPSF
• Stanford falls to 9-6, 6-4 MPSF
• Hosted by Stanford
• Match results

The #3 BYU men’s volleyball team takes down #8 Stanford in a three set sweep, without First Team All-American Ben Patch. Patch hasn’t stepped foot on the court since February 4th with a groin injury. This is the first game of a double-header between the two teams this weekend.

BYU took down the Cardinals in a close, competitive match up, with the score staying consistent across each set, but their 42-33 kills and 17-9 blocks kept them ahead of Stanford.

Leading the way for the Cougars was Jake Langlois with 14 kills on a .375 hitting percentage and five digs. Brenden Sander added 10 more kills, hitting for .438, four digs and three blocks. Tim Dobbert posted nine kills, eight digs and four blocks. Leading BYU in blocks was Price Jarman.

For Stanford, Gabriel Vega put down 10 kills and seven digs. Evan Enriques picked up 12 digs in the back court while Kevin Rakestraw blocked four balls.

Press Release

Courtesy of BYU Athletics

An all-around team effort helped No. 3 BYU men’s volleyball past No. 8 Stanford in straight sets (25-21, 25-20, 25-21) Thursday night at Maples Pavilion.

“Tonight was a great team performance,” BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “As a team, we’ve been working each day in practice to improve on a few things, and I thought we made progress there.”

Jake Langlois led the Cougars with 14 kills on a .375 clip. Leo Durkin set the team with 32 assists while Erik Sikes chipped in eight digs. Brenden Sander had 10 kills and Tim Dobbert contributed nine kills, eight blocks and four blocks in the win.

BYU (13-2, 7-1 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) took an early 7-4 lead in the first set against Stanford (9-6, 6-4 MPSF) with help from a Durkin service ace. A Dobbert kill extended the Cougars’ advantage to six at 12-6. The Cardinal countered with a 4-1 run to come back within five, trailing 16-11, to force a BYU timeout. Another Dobbert kill put the Cougars ahead 21-15, but Stanford scored four of the next five points to keep within striking distance, down 22-19. BYU stayed ahead, however, with Langlois ending the set with a kill 25-21.

The Cardinal took a 5-2 lead to start the second set after a poor offensive start from the Cougars. A 6-2 BYU run, fueled by a pair of Sander kills, pushed the Cougars out front 8-7. Another BYU run, this time 4-0, gave the Cougars a 13-10 advantage. Sander and Joseph Grosh teamed up for a block that extended BYU’s lead at 18-14 and back-to-back-to-back Sander kills kept the lead at 21-16. Stanford fought off two set points with the Cougars up 24-18, but a Langlois kill ended the set 25-20.

The Cardinal used a 7-2 run to take a 9-5 advantage at the beginning of the third set. Kills from Dobbert and Langlois brought BYU within two, down 10-8, before a Grosh kill evened the score at 11-all. The score was tight from there as a Wil Stanley ace gave the Cougars a two-point edge, up 18-16. A Dobbert service ace gave BYU match point at 24-20, and a Stanford attack error ended the set and match 25-21.

The Cougars return to Maples Pavilion Friday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m. PST for a rematch with the Cardinal. The match will be streamed live on Pac-12.com. Links to live stats and the video feed can be found on the BYU men’s volleyball schedule page.

Press Release

Courtesy of Stanford Athletics

The No. 8 Stanford men’s volleyball team dropped a 25-21, 25-20, 25-21 decision to third-ranked BYU, Thursday at Maples Pavilion.

Stanford (9-6, 6-4 MPSF) struggled offensively, hitting .172 for the match. BYU (13-2, 7-1 MPSF) finished with 42 kills and just nine hitting errors to post a .355 attack percentage. The Cougars also out blocked the Cardinal, 8.5 to 4.5, and held a 5-3 edge in aces. Stanford finished with a 36-33 lead in digs.

The Cardinal was led offensively by Kevin Rakestraw, who hit .500, but was unable to find the middle more often as he had just five kills on eight swings. Redshirt senior outside hitter Gabriel Vega was the only Cardinal with double-digit kills, totaling 10 to go with seven digs.

Freshman opposite Eric Beatty, making his second collegiate start, turned in career-highs with eight kills and eight digs. Sophomore outside hitter Jordan Ewert was held to six kills.

Freshman Paul Bischoff started the match at setter for Stanford, tallying 18 assists to go with two kills, two digs and two blocks. Junior Kyle Dagostino also appeared in all three sets at setter, finishing with eight assists and three digs. Junior libero Evan Enriques led all players with 12 digs, marking his seventh double-digit dig performance of the season.

BYU was led by senior Jake Langlois, a native of San Jose, California, who recorded a match-high 14 kills on .375 hitting. Junior outside hitter Brenden Sander chipped in with 10 kills on .438 hitting and three blocks.

Stanford and BYU will meet again on Friday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. in Burnham Pavilion. Admission is free.