MALIBU, Calif. — BYU men’s volleyball fell against No. 6 seeded Stanford in a five-set battle (23-25, 25-19, 25-27, 25-19, 10-15) in the 2025 MPSF Quarterfinals at Firestone Fieldhouse on Thursday evening, finishing the season with a 19-10 record.
Luke Benson led all players with 22 kills and four aces as the only Cougar to record double-digit kills. Jackson Fife also led all players in digs with 11. Middle blocker Niko Hales and setter Tyler Herget recorded a team-high five blocks.
It was an even match as the Cougars held a .270 hitting percentage over Stanford's .244. Stanford tallied 10 aces compared to BYU's eight, and were also able to outblock the Cougars with 15.5 total blocks compared to BYU's 10.5.
The Cardinal came back to win the third set 27-25 after trailing 24-21, going on to lead the entirety of set five.
Set One
Kills by Miks Ramanis and Teilon-Jonathan Tufuga gave BYU an early 4-2 lead. The Cougars would later go on a 4-0 run with two Benson aces to force a Stanford timeout at 10-4.
The freshman Hales picked up two kills, boosting BYU’s lead to 13-9. Benson would fire off three kills in a row until the Cardinal answered by going on a 3-0 run of their own, halting the game at 16-13 with a BYU timeout.
Another kill by Hales pushed the score to 20-16 in favor of the Cougars. Two BYU attack errors combined with an ace and kill allowed Stanford to even the set at 20.
BYU profited off of two Stanford attack errors to regain a two-point lead, but Stanford would storm back again with two kills to equalize at 22. The Cardinal continued their momentum late in set one, and would go on a 3-0 run to capture a 25-23 win.
Set Two
Keoni Thiim entered off the bench in pursuit of a new offensive look for the Cougars, earning himself the first point of the second set off a kill. Tufuga would add on three kills to later give BYU a four-point lead, heading into the media timeout 15-11.
Three unanswered kills from Stanford forced a BYU timeout with the Cougars holding a 19-16 lead. Kills from Tufuga and Hales rebuilt a 22-18 lead and forced an ensuing Stanford timeout.
BYU closed out the second set by going on a 3-0 run to win 25-19, evening the match at 1-1.
Tufuga led the second set with four kills, including zero errors. BYU also hit .522 in set two while never trailing.
Set Three
The opening of the third set remained close, with nine ties up until Stanford went on a 4-0 run to achieve a 12-9 lead off three Cougar attack errors, forcing a BYU timeout. The Cardinal rallied two more points immediately following the timeout for a five-point lead at 14-9.
Three more kills from Benson combined with two Stanford errors altered the scoreboard to 15-14, forcing a Stanford timeout.
A kill from Thiim sent deep to the left corner of the floor allowed the Cougars to obtain an 18-17 lead. Back row kills from Benson and Thiim improved BYU’s lead to 21-19, provoking a Stanford timeout.
Back-to-back Thiim aces and a Stanford error took the score to 24-21 until Stanford put on the gas to record a 4-0 run, capturing set-point at 25-24. BYU stayed alive for one point, but a Stanford kill and ace would close the set 27-25, with Stanford winning 2-1.
Set Four
Back-to-back kills from Thiim set the tone for BYU in set four, with the Cougars gaining a 2-0 lead. BYU added on a 4-0 run, leading to a Stanford timeout. BYU then capitalized off four Stanford errors, taking a 13-9 lead.
Two kills from Benson and a kill from Teon Taylor gave BYU a 19-15 advantage for Stanford to call its second timeout of the set. BYU’s pins continued to apply pressure, with Thiim and Benson adding two kills each. Another kill from Benson would close out set four for a 25-19 Cougar win.
Benson piled on seven kills in the fourth set, with Thiim adding four to aid BYU’s .600 hitting percentage.
Set Five
An early 2-0 run gave the Cardinal a 4-2 lead. Stanford benefitted from two BYU errors for a 9-5 lead and Cougar timeout.
A Stanford ace and BYU attack error urged another BYU timeout, with the Cougars now trailing 11-5. BYU came back to earn the next two points, highlighted by a Thiim ace, with Stanford calling its first timeout of the set up 11-7.
Two consecutive BYU attack errors would conclude the set 15-10, with Stanford winning the match 3-2.
With the winner of the MPSF Tournament receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, the Cougars now seek an at-large bid. The NCAA Men's Volleyball Selection Show will air Sunday, April 27th at 4 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.