No. 3 BYU Men Take MPSF Lead with Sweep

Match Stats

• No. 3 BYU 3, UC Santa Barbara 0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-21)
• BYU moves to 23-3, 15-2 MPSF; UC Santa Barbara falls to 10-16, 5-13 MPSF
• Santa Barbara, California
• Attendance: 1150
• Box Score http://www.ucsbgauchos.com/sports/m-volley/2016-17/boxscores/20170407_1mnm.xml

No. 3 BYU downed UC Santa Barbara for the second night in a row, this time via sweep. The Cougars won Friday’s match 25-22, 25-14, 25-21 to put the pressure on Long Beach State in the MPSF conference race with one match to go.

The win pushed BYU to 16-2 in conference play while Long Beach State (15-2) takes on No. 14 Cal State Northridge on Saturday. Both BYU and LBSU have already clinched playoff spots and will host MPSF quarterfinal matches.

BYU hit .286 on the night and served up six aces, while UCSB managed a .152 hitting effort and outblocked the Cougars 8.5 to 5.5.

Junior opposite Ben Patch led the way for BYU with 14 kills, nine digs and two aces. Senior outside hitter Jake Langlois added nine kills and four aces. Junior outside Brenden Sander chipped in seven kills, while junior middle blocker Price Jarman registered six kills and a team-best four blocks, while hitting at a .750 clip (6-0-8). Junior libero Erik Sikes posted a team-best 15 digs.

Freshman middle blocker Keenan Sanders put down a team-best nine kills and four blocks for UC Santa Barbara. Redshirt senior outside Jacob Delson and sophomore outside Corey Chavers added six kills apiece. Delson also accounted for six digs and three blocks. Redshirt sophomore middle Connor Drake put up a team-leading six blocks , while redshirt senior libero Parker Boehle managed nine digs.

UC Santa Barbara got a kill and a block from Drake en route to an early 3-1 lead in Set 1. BYU scored six of the next nine including a pair of Langlois blocks to grab a 7-6 advantage. The teams tied five times, last at 13. The Cougars built a four-point lead at 22-18 with help from two aces and kills by four different players. A service error made it 24-20 and Patch capped the set with a kill three points later.

BYU carried the momentum into Set 2 as UCSB committed two errors and Patch added a kill and an ace for a 5-1 edge. Seven more Gauchos errors helped push the Cougar lead to 18-10. Up 22-13 after putaways by Chavers and Sander, BYU ended the set on a 3-0 run, including a kill and an ace by Langlois.

The teams were level through 14 points of Set 3, before BYU pulled away with a 4-1 run, including two Patch kills. A Langlois putaway made it a five-point game at 16-11. UC Santa Barbara cut the margin to two at 20-18 thanks to a trio of Cougar errors and three Sanders terminations. Four different players managed kills as BYU scored five of the final eight points to close out the night.

PRESS RELEASES

Courtesy: BYU  Athletics

GOLETA, Calif. – Junior Ben Patch helped No. 3 BYU men’s volleyball beat UC Santa Barbara in three sets (25-22, 25-14, 25-21) Friday night at the Thunderdome to cap off regular-season play.

“It was another great night from the service line and from our defense,” BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “I’m extremely proud of the team and the work that they’ve put into this conference regular season. Each one of these guys has given their all to the team success.”

Patch led the Cougars with 14 kills to go with nine digs, just shy of a double-double. Price Jarman contributed four blocks and Erik Sikes had a career-high tying 15 digs. Leo Durkin collected 36 assists and Jake Langlois had nine kills and four aces in the win.

A pair of blocks from Langlois and Jarman helped BYU (23-3, 16-2 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) stay even with UC Santa Barbara (10-16, 5-13 MPSF) at 6-6 to start the first set. A Patch kill gave the Cougars a 13-11 edge, and a Langlois service ace maintained the advantage at 19-16. BYU collected set point at 24-20 after a Gaucho service error before picking up the 25-22 win from a Patch kill.

A kill and ace from Patch helped the Cougars to a 5-1 lead early in the second set. UC Santa Barbara rallied to get back within a point, down 8-7, but BYU countered with a 5-1 run to go back up 13-8, forcing a Gaucho timeout. Another Patch kill made it 19-11 before a Langlois ace easily ended the set for the Cougars 25-14.

A pair of Jarman kills gave BYU a 6-5 edge in the third set. A Langlois kill then capped off a 5-1 Cougar run to give them a 16-11 lead, and a kill from Brenden Sander kept BYU up 22-18. Another kill from Langlois ended the set 25-21, completing the sweep.

The Cougars will begin play in the MPSF Tournament as either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed, depending on the outcome of Saturday’s Long Beach State/CSUN match. BYU will host at least the quarterfinal round beginning Saturday, April 15, at 7 p.m. MDT. The opponent is still to be determined.

Courtesy: UC Santa Barbara Athletics

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – In its final match of the 2017 season, the UC Santa Barbara men’s volleyball was handed a 3-0 defeat at the hands of No. 3 Brigham Young University; 25-22, 25-14, 25-21.

In front of a season-high crowd of 1,150, UCSB (10-16, 5-13 MPSF) struggled to get its offensive in rhythm due in part to some tough serving from the visiting Cougars (23-3, 16-2). A night after ripping 13 aces over four games, BYU came back with six aces on Friday night including four from senior outside hitter Jake Langlois.

“We didn’t compete hard enough to have a chance against a top team like BYU,” said UCSB head coach Rick McLaughlin. “It’s not fun to end the season early like this, but we as players and coaches earned that. There’s a lot of hard work that needs to be done in preparation for next year, and that work will start immediately.”

Keenan Sanders had the top night statistically for UCSB, grabbing a team-high nine kills on 22 swings. With six roofs, sophomore middle Connor Drake led a solid blocking effort for UCSB, which notched 8.5 blocks as a team on the night.

BYU was led on offense by opposite Ben Patch, who led all players with 14 kills on a .286 hitting, a clip which matched his team for the match.

In a match featuring a number of long rallies, both liberos were very busy. BYU’s Erik Sikes had 15 digs in the contest while UCSB’s Parker Boehle notched nine.

Boehle was one of three UCSB seniors who was honored before the contest. In their final collegiate matches, outside hitter Jacob Delson had six kills and six digs while setter Grady Zant subbed in to serve twice.

Senior Night was just part one of a three-fer at the Thunderdome. Former head coach Kenny Preston, who accrued over 500 wins in 30 years at the helm of the program, was unveiled as the latest Legend of the Dome in an intermission before the third set. It was also announced that Preston will be a member of UCSB’s 2018 Hall of Fame Class.

Last but not least, departing long-time public address announcer Marc “Cubby” Jacobs was saluted before the match after serving UCSB for almost 40 years as a player and PA voice.

Officially eliminated from postseason contention with Thursday’s four-game loss to BYU, UCSB will be sitting the playoffs out for the first time since 2013. The Gauchos are expected to return five of six starters from this year’s squad.