No. 6 Cougars Complete Two-Match Sweep of No. 15 UC Santa Barbara

PROVO, Utah – No. 6 BYU men’s volleyball completed a two-match sweep of No. 15 UC Santa Barbara in back-to-back matches, with a three set finish (25-11, 25-22, 25-18) Saturday night at the Smith Fieldhouse.

"I think at times our team actually went beyond what they even believe in themselves," said BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead. "That’s a good thing. We know we’ve been tested, and that's crucial heading into conference play. I like the changes we’re making, with setting our middles more. We want to set them even more."

Freshman middle blocker Niko Hales recorded eight kills on eight swings through the evening, hitting his second perfect match of the season. Keoni Thiim also contributed heavily with 10 kills, hitting .526 with six blocks.

Teon Taylor fueled the Cougars’ defensive efforts with a season high 11 blocks. In addition, Taylor recorded five kills on six attempts and notched an .833 clip. 

“When the middles are doing well it really helps take the load off of our pins," said Hales. "Throughout the season we have put a lot of pressure on Keoni and Luke to carry us through. When our middles can do well, it saves their shoulders and is good for their longevity as well.

BYU (8-4) completed the two-game stand undefeated, sweeping in three sets per match. The Cougars hit .403 through the Saturday night game with 34 kills, 19 digs and 15 blocks, holding UCSB to just three blocks.

Set One

Both teams opened up the match by trading blows through the first few serves. The Cougars etched ahead with five straight points that put BYU up 9-5. The streak continued with the Gauchos only breaking up a nine point scoring run for the Cougars once. A kill from Thiim down the line put BYU up 13-6 and forced USBC to call its first timeout. 

The Cougars continued with five more unbroken blows extending the streak to 14-1 before a second Gaucho timeout was issued, with a BYU lead at 18-6. UCSB tallied a 4-1 run out of the break prompted by two attack errors and one service error. 

BYU put its foot to the gas to end the set 25-11 on a 5-0 run with kills from Hales and opposite Luke Benson. Hales hit a perfect set with four kills on four attempts.

The Cougars tied their largest margin of victory in a single set this season, defeating STAC 25-11 in the first set as well in January 2025.

Set Two

The Gauchos flipped the script to start the second half, taking a 4-1 lead from a handful of attack errors from the Cougars. BYU stayed in the mix with combined efforts from Hales and Benson that got the Cougars to tie the set 9-9. A kill from Teilon-Jonathan Tufuga propelled BYU to take the lead for the first time in the set 13-12.

The momentum then shifted back to BYU through the remainder of the set. Benson kicked off a 3-1 run to force a Gaucho timeout with the Cougars in the lead 21-18. BYU continued forward taking the set 25-22 off a successful challenge that was reversed in favor of the Cougars.

BYU recorded 13 kills through the second set, recording a .476 clip through the period.

Set Three

BYU controlled the third set from the onset going on a 3-1 short blast capped off by a kill from Taylor down the middle. Benson also showed out early on in the set with back-to-back contributions, one being an ace to put the Cougars up 6-3. 

The scoreboard continued to advance with both sides alternating possession during the middle of the set, broken up by a short 3-0 run from the Cougars. Tufuga and Hales each notched kills to craft a 15-10 lead before the media timeout. 

BYU handled things in the final stretch of the match, by forcing a wall with Taylor who recorded a double block with Tyler Herget followed by his own solo block a short time later. Despite UCSB powering through three match-points, the Cougars finished the match in three sets, ending the third stretch 25-18.

Up Next

The Cougars will head on the road to face Concordia University Irvine for a pair of matches in their first conference matchup of 2025. The first match is slated for 8 p.m. MT on Thursday, Feb. 13, with the broadcast available on Big 10 Network+.