UCSB Upsets BYU at Home

MATCH STATS

• #13 UCSB Def. #6 BYU 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 27-25)
• #13 UCSB 4-3; #6 BYU 5-4
• Provo, Utah (Smith Fieldhouse)
• Box score

PROVO, Utah – BYU hosted UCSB for the first of two matches this weekend, and the Gauchos pulled out the upset and sweep. Only four teams have swept BYU at home in the past 10 years.

The key to victory was a balanced and productive offense. Five out of the six Gaucho attackers posted hitting percentages above .300 and they hit .312 on the match.

Leading the UCSB offense was sophomore middle blocker, Keenan Sanders, with 11 kills on a .391 clip. Roy McFarland also had an impressive offensive performances with nine kills, hitting .429. Setter Randy DeWeese ran the offense with 31 assists and went four for seven on attacks.

BYU was led by Gabi Garcia Fernandez (.292) and Brenden Sander (.222) with 12 kills a piece. Price Jarman led the Cougars in hitting percentage at .615 with nine kills and one error on 13 attacks. They were fueled by setter Leo Durkin, who tabbed 28 assists on the match.

The two teams will meet again on Saturday night at 7 p.m. (MST) in Smith Fieldhouse.

PRESS RELEASES

Courtesy of UCSB Athletics

PROVO, Utah – The No. 14 UC Santa Barbara men’s volleyball team recorded a historic upset over No. 6 Brigham Young on Friday night, becoming just the fourth team in the past 10 years to pull of a sweep of the Cougars at Smith Fieldhouse. Set scores were 25-23, 25-20, 27-25.

A notoriously tough place for away teams – BYU has an .855 winning percentage on its home floor over the past eight seasons – it was the first sweep in Provo for the Gauchos in the rally scoring era and the first time overall since 1996.

With the victory, UCSB improved to 4-3 on the season with three of those wins coming against top-10 ranked teams.

The Gauchos had a particularly balanced attack against the Cougars (5-4), as sophomore opposite Keenan Sanders led the way with 11 kills but received a lot of help from his teammates. Sophomore outside hitter Roy McFarland contributed nine kills and hit .429 while Corey Chavers was also a key contributor with seven kills.

Five of UCSB’s six starters finished with hitting percentages north of .375 and the team out-hit the Cougars .312 to .230 overall. Sophomore setter Randy DeWeese, who coordinated the offense, ended up with 31 assists on the evening.

BYU received a dozen kills apiece from Gabi Garcia Fernandez and Brenden Sander, but saw themselves get edged in the ace (4-3) and block (6-4.5) departments while committing seven more attack errors than the Gauchos.

UCSB’s offense was a well-oiled machine in the first game – three separate players had four kills and all five hitters had multiple kills – helping the team to a healthy 10-6 advantage early on. The Gauchos held that lead steady until the Cougars built momentum late, using a late 7-3 run to cut their deficit to one at 22-21. After a flurry of timeouts and clutch plays by both teams, a perfect set from DeWeese on set point found Sanders all alone with no blockers on the right side, and the Freshman All-American easily buried the attempt to put UCSB up 1-0.

Things were tight early on in the second set, but the Gauchos pulled away on a 4-0 run capped off by a huge Chavers block to make it 18-14. Tough serving and good reads on the block – UCSB had half its blocks for the match in the second set alone – kept BYU off balance and forced them into a number of errors down the stretch. DeWeese set up game point for the Gauchos with a solo block on a Sander swing, then ended it moments later with his third kill of the night.

UCSB had to weather five kills apiece from Sanders and Garcia Fernandez, but were eventually able to pull it out in a rollercoaster third set. The Gauchos looked to have the sweep in the bag when BYU was whistled for a ball handling violation to make it 21-18, but the home team roared back from the brink with five straight points to put the Gauchos on their heels ar 21-23.

A bad serve by the Cougars followed by back-to-back attack errors set up the first of three match points for the Gauchos, who eventually converted when DeWeese and junior middle Connor Drake (3-0-5, two blocks) teamed up to block a Storm Fa’agata-Tufug tip.

UCSB and BYU will play each other once again on Saturday night, with first serve set for 6:00 p.m. PT at Smith Fieldhouse. The contest will be televised live on BYU TV.

Courtesy of BYU Athletics

PROVO, Utah – No. 14 UC Santa Barbara upset No. 6 BYU men’s volleyball in three sets (25-23, 25-20, 27-25) Friday night at the Smith Fieldhouse.

“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.”

Gabi Garcia Fernandez and Brenden Sander led the team with 12 kills apiece. Fernandez also had two aces, five digs and two block assists. Price Jarman added nine kills for the Cougars on a .615 clip.

In the first set, a Fernandez ace tied the score at 5-5 for BYU (5-4), however the Gauchos (4-3) went on a 5-1 run to go up 10-6. ­The Cougars then rallied back within three, down 20-17. A kill from UC Santa Barbara increased the advantage to four, 21-17. A kill from Jarman followed by an attack error from the Gauchos brought BYU within one, 22-21, but it wasn’t enough as the UC Santa Barbara took the first set 25-23.

The Gauchos opened the second set taking the first two points before the Cougars scored four straight to take a 4-2 edge. UC Santa Barbara answered back with three points of their own, but a kill from Fernandez evened the score 5-5. The Gauchos then went on a 4-1 run before BYU came back with a block from Miki Jauhiainen to help tie the score at 13-all. The Cougars came within two points again late, but UC Santa Barbara took the second set 25-20.

To begin the third set, the Gauchos took the first two points. However, the Cougars fought back and a service ace from Jauhiainen tied the set, 3-3. The two teams went back-and-forth until UC Santa Barbara went on a 3-0 run, pushing them ahead 12-8. BYU fought back with a kill from Leo Durkin bringing the Cougars within a point, 21-20. A Fernandez kill then tied the set at 21 apiece, forcing the Gauchos to call timeout. After the break, a Fernandez ace gave BYU its first lead of the set, 22-21. However, UC Santa Barbara took the third set and match 27-25 on the block.

The Cougars return to the Smith Fieldhouse Saturday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m. MST, for their second match against UC Santa Barbara The game will be broadcast live on BYUtv with live stats available on the schedule page.