Match Stats
- #4 BYU def. #2 UCLA 3-2 (28-26, 25-23, 13-25, 22-25, 18-16)
- BYU moves to 8-2 (3-1 MPSF), UCLA falls to 9-2 (6-1 MPSF)
- Smith Fieldhouse, Provo, Utah
- Attendance: 4,047
- Box Score
The 4th-ranked BYU Cougars handed 2nd-ranked UCLA their first conference loss of the season on Friday, pulling off a 3-2 win in front of better than 4,000 fans at Smith Fieldhouse.
With only 6 teams advancing to the NCAA Championship tournament, and only two at-large bids available, wins like this can be huge hallmarks for a team like BYU to hang their hats on – even if they don’t wind up winning the MPSF.
“It is exciting. I’m happy for our guys,” BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “They served well and they served aggressively. Today we were confident at the service line. It’s hard to see some of the tough moments the guys went though. I have to figure out why we go through those moments.”
The win was a fully-fought one, however. After pushing the Cougars every step in the first two sets (BYU won by the minimum 2 points in both cases), UCLA was dominant in the 3rd. They had 15 kills and 0 errors on just 19 swings to hit an unheard-of .789 in the frame and regain some momentum. They also won the 4th set (though their offense was considerably quieter).
With the game on the line, BYU star junior Ben Patch was huge. He had 6 kills 0 errors, including at one point 3-straight BYU points.
After the teams tied at 16 in that 5th set, a service error by UCLA’s Micah Ma’a and an attack error by UCLA’s Daenan Gyimah ended the day in favor of BYU.
Patch recorded his second career double-double, picking up 28 total kills (.422 average) and 11 digs, with 29.5 total points. In spite of his effort, UCLA still led most of the statistical categories in the game:
- UCLA hit .326, BYU .268
- UCLA had 66 kills, BYU 63
- UCLA had 6 aces, BYU 4
- UCLA had 12 blocks, BYU 7
- UCLA had 63 assists, BYU 57
- UCLA had 49 digs, BYU 47
But, if the lopsided 3rd set is removed from the math, the numbers look considerably different. The Bruins hit just .254 in the other 4 sets, for example.
Individually, UCLA had 5 players hit in double figures ass part of an incredibly balanced attack. Dylan Missry barely stood out with 13 kills and a .480 percentage, which ekes past his output from the rest of the season combined; and Oliver Martin, JT Hatch, Daenan Gyimah, and Hagen Smith all had 12 kills and hit better than .333.
Micah Ma’a, in spite of the late error that helped BYU pull away in the final set, was big at the service line for the Bruins – picking up 6 aces on the day.
Press Releases
Courtesy BYU Athletics:
PROVO, Utah – Ben Patch’s second-career double-double pushed No. 4 BYU men’s volleyball to a five-set victory (28-26, 25-23, 13-25, 22-25, 18-16) over No. 2 UCLA at the Smith Fieldhouse Friday night.
“It is exciting. I’m happy for our guys,” BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “They served well and they served aggressively. Today we were confident at the service line. It’s hard to see some of the tough moments the guys went though. I have to figure out why we go through those moments.”
After UCLA came back down two sets to none, BYU jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the fifth set. However, UCLA responded with four-straight points to take the 6-5 advantage. Coming out of a timeout, Patch killed the ball down the line to even the score at 6-6. He took over the fifth set for the Cougars, scoring six of eight points, including a stuff block to tie the game 13-13. BYU fought off UCLA’s match point at 14-13, battling to its own match point at 16-15. The teams traded points until Price Jarman sealed the victory with a solo block, taking the set 18-16.
The Cougars handed the Bruins their first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation loss. Despite trailing UCLA (9-2, 6-1 MPSF) in every category except total attacks, BYU (8-2, 3-1 MPSF) won the 11th straight-home match against the conference rivals. This is the second five-set match for BYU this year, the first win.
Patch led all players with a season-high 28 kills on a .422 clip. He also tied his career high in digs with 11 for a double-double. His only other double-double came in his freshman season in the MPSF Championship game against Long Beach State.
Jake Langlois and Brenden Sander also reached double-digit kills with 13 and 12, respectively. Leo Durkin dished out 48 assists, while libero Erik Sikes matched Patch’s dig total with 11.
In the first set, the Cougars’ first five points were all scored off of the Bruins’ service errors. After an ace from Durkin tied the set, BYU won a long rally to lead for the first time, 8-7. Capped off with an ace from Sander, BYU went on a 5-1 run to push the lead to 20-16 and force a UCLA timeout. A couple in a row for the visiting team then tied the game at 23-23. The Cougars had two set points, but the Bruins scored two in a row to make it set point for them, 26-25. A kill from Patch sparked the home squad to a 3-0 run to take set one 28-26, winning the set with a block from Langlois and Jarman.
UCLA led early in the second set, but a 5-1 run gave BYU the advantage. Two kills from Langlois at the end of that run forced the Bruin timeout with the Cougars up 11-9. The two teams stayed within one or two of each other for the rest of the set. UCLA got back on top 17-16, but BYU responded. A pair of kills from Patch pushed the Cougars to a 21-18 lead after putting together four points in a row. A rally lasting about 51 seconds resulted in a point for the home team after Patch tooled it off the Bruin block, giving BYU set point, 24-21. Despite UCLA battling back within one, Langlois drilled an attack out of the back row to win the second set 25-23.
Behind two aces, the Bruins opened up the third set strong, taking an early 3-0 lead. Olmstead called a timeout with UCLA leading 8-3. Sander killed the ball on the end line out of the timeout, but the Bruins kept the pressure coming. They went up 13-6, forcing Olmstead to call the final timeout to regroup. However, the Cougars were never able to bounce back, dropping the set 25-13.
BYU came out firing in the fourth set. The Bruins stayed one or two points ahead of BYU for the first half of the set, never pulling away. The Cougars finally made a move after Durkin slammed home an overpass kill. That sparked BYU on a 4-1 run to take its first lead of the game, 15-14. Tough serving from UCLA’s Micah Ma’a scored four straight for the away team, taking the 20-16 advantage. Kiril Meretev came off the bench, firing away two kills to get the Cougars within two points. However, it was not enough as the Bruins took the fourth set 25-22, forcing the decisive fifth set.
The two teams will play again Saturday night at the Smith Fieldhouse at 7 p.m. MST. The game will be streamed live on theW.tv.
Courtesy UCLA Athletics:
No. 2-ranked UCLA’s furious rally came up short in a five-set loss at No. 4 BYU in an MPSF match played on Friday night in Provo, Utah before a crowd of over 4,000 fans. Scores of the match were 26-28, 23-25, 25-13, 25-22, 16-18. UCLA is now 9-2 on the season and 6-1 in MPSF action. Sophomore Dylan Missry led a balanced attack of five Bruin players in double-digit kills with a career-high 13. The same two teams battle again on Saturday night at 6 p.m. PT.
BYU broke open a close first set with a mini run to take an 18-21 lead. A kill by Daenan Gyimah made it 19-21 and a kill by JT Hatch cut the deficit to 21-22. UCLA caught the Cougars at 23-all on a block by Micah Ma’a and Missry. The Bruins fought off two set points and had one of their own at 26-25 after an Oliver Martin/ Ma’a block. However, BYU tallied the next three points to take the set.
A quick run in set two gave UCLA an 8-6 edge after a Missry kill. BYU rallied to go up 9-11. The score was then even at 12, 14, 15, 17 and 18. BYU went up 18-21 after a Bruin error. UCLA cut the gap to two twice on kills by Hagen Smith and then by Missry. A Martin kill made it 23-24, but the Cougars scored next for the 23-25 win.
Micah Ma’a helped change the momentum of the match with his serve in set three. He blasted two of his three aces in the set early, as UCLA jumped out to a 5-1 lead. The Bruins led 10-4 after a Martin kill. A Ma’a kill made it 23-12 and the Bruins took the set 25-13. UCLA hit .789 in the set with 15 kills, no errors on 19 swings.
UCLA moved to leads of 7-4 and 12-10 before the Cougars came back to even the score at 13. The Bruins then moved out to a 20-16 lead after a Hatch kill, an error and a couple more Ma’a aces. BYU sliced the margin to 24-22, but UCLA took the set after a net call for a 25-22 win.
BYU grabbed a 2-5 lead to open set five. The Bruins capped a 5-1 run to go in front 6-5. A couple of Martin kills made it 8-6 for UCLA. The Cougars came back to even the score at 13-all. A kill by Smith put UCLA at match point. BYU tied it up on a service error. Martin’s attack put UCLA up at 15-14. BYU tied it at 15 and took the lead on a net call. Hatch’s kill fought off a match point for the Cougars and leveled the score at 16-all. Another Bruin service error and a hitting error provided the Cougars with the decisive points.
In addition to his career-best in kills, Missry added a career-mark for digs with 10. Martin (.429), Hatch (.400), Gyimah (.333) and Smith (.348) each had 12 kills. It was a career-high total for Smith who also had nine digs. Ma’a finished with six aces, the most by a player in a MPSF match this season. Gyimah registered a career-best six block assists. The Bruins won the hitting battle .326 to .268, enjoyed a blocking edge of 12.5 to 7.0 and had a service advantage of 6 to 4 but lost the war. UCLA played without starters Mitch Stahl and Jake Arnitz who each sat out the contest due to injuries.
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