LOS ANGELES — The No. 7 BYU men’s volleyball team dropped a five-set match (25-22, 15-25, 21-25, 27-25, 17-19) against the back-to-back national champions of UCLA in Pauley Pavilion Friday evening.
"I'm proud of the fight our guys showed tonight," said BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead. "Start to finish, they were competitive through the ups and downs of another intense BYU vs UCLA match. Luke carried a large load as he has done a bunch this season. Jackson and Keoni were sparks which we needed and did a great job."
After dropping sets two and three, the Cougars fought back to extend UCLA into just its third fifth-set match of the season.
BYU was led by Luke Benson's match-high 18 kills, with Teilon-Jonathan Tufuga also finsihing in double-digit kills with 10.
The Cougars (17-8, 5-4 MPSF) finished with a .258 hitting percentage compared to UCLA's .408 team clip. Depsite collecting 31 service errors, UCLA still managed 12 aces over BYU's six.
Set One
BYU gained an early 4-1 lead courtesy of a Niko Hales block and three Cougar kills. The Bruins went on a run of their own, evening the score at 6-6 off the back of Cooper Robinson’s two aces. BYU would up its lead to three off a tipped ball by Tufuga, heading 15-12 into the media timeout.
The Cougars continued to apply pressure, with an ace by Tufuga forcing UCLA to take a timeout 18-13. UCLA crept back by going on a 3-0 run following the break, leading to BYU’s first timeout of the set.
A kill by Tufuga and block by Benson pushed the score to 23-20, forcing UCLA to burn its final timeout of the set. After three combined service errors in a row, a triple block by BYU closed the set 25-22 in favor of the Cougars.
BYU hit .370 in the first set, holding UCLA to .083 in hitting and only one lead change.
Set Two
UCLA managed an early 7-4 lead, with three kills coming from outside hitter Zach Rama. Kills by BYU’s Tufuga and Benson and an ace by Tyler Herget would even the score 9-9. UCLA would go on a 3-0 run to gain a 13-10 lead, and upped the score 15-12 heading into the media timeout.
BYU was forced to burn a timeout when trailing by five 17-12 off another UCLA 3-0 run. Two BYU service errors and a UCLA ace gave the Bruins a 21-15 lead, forcing BYU to call another timeout.
Three errors by BYU in the end of the second set handed UCLA a 25-15 victory, evening the score 1-1.
Set Three
BYU brought in Keoni Thiim and Jackson Fife off the bench, looking to bring new energy for the Cougars in the third set. A kill by Tufuga took the score to 4-3, with BYU only trailing by one. The Cougars later went on a 3-0 run to even the set at seven.
Back-to-back kills by Benson and Thiim took the score to 12-11, with BYU trailing by one. The Cougars remained right behind the Bruins, with Benson’s eighth kill of the night bringing the score to 14-13.
Following a media timeout, UCLA went on a 3-0 run and would gain a four-point lead 20-16 causing a BYU timeout. BYU brought it within two 21-19 off a Tufuga kill and Ian Little ace.
The Bruins pushed through to capture a 25-21 victory off back-to-back kills, taking a 2-1 lead.
Set Four
UCLA seized an 8-5 lead in the opening of the fourth set off six kills from five different players. A 3-0 run by BYU evened the set at 13-13, with a kill by Thiim and two UCLA errors. BYU continued to profit off of UCLA’s errors, gaining its first lead of the set 15-14 into the media timeout off a UCLA service and attack error.
BYU would call a timeout trailing 18-17, and would then gain a 19-18 lead off two more UCLA errors. With the score even at points 19, 20, 21 and 22, a kill by Thiiim then gave BYU a 23-22 advantage.
A service error by UCLA gave BYU a set-point 24-23, and the Bruins burned a timeout in an attempt to ice BYU’s server Thiim. Through a rally, UCLA evened the score to extend the set. A ninth service error by UCLA in the set combined with a Benson kill gave BYU a 27-25 win, taking the match to a fifth set.
Set Five
UCLA entered set five by going on a 4-0 run. BYU added two kills from middle blockers Hales and Taylor, and would call a timeout when trailing 7-2.
Tufuga earned a kill immediately following the timeout, UCLA up 7-3. BYU slowly cut UCLA’s lead to three 9-6 off a UCLA service error and Herget ace. BYU earned another ace from Hales, and took a timeout 12-9 when still trailing three points behind.
BYU went on a 4-0 run to come back for a 13-12 lead, featuring back-to-back kills from Benson and forcing a UCLA timeout. BYU had a match-point at 14-13, but the Bruins sent a ball deep in the corner right on the line to even the set at 14.
UCLA would reach two more match points, but a UCLA service error evened the set again at 16-16 to keep BYU alive. A Cougar attacking error and UCLA block would give UCLA the 19-17 win, with BYU falling 3-2.
Up Next
Tomorrow’s match against UCLA is slated for Saturday, April 12 at 5 p.m. PT and will be televised on the Big 10 Network, with Kevin Barnett (play-by-play) and Camryn Irwin (analyst) on the call.
How to find the Big 10 Network on your TV system for Saturday's match.