2025 Men's Volleyball Season Review

The Cougars finished the season as the No. 8 team in the country. BYU (19-10) also averaged the second-highest home attendance in the nation, with an average of 3,994 fans per game.

Author Lauren Thomas Bosco
2025 Men's Volleyball Season Review2025 Men's Volleyball Season Review
Abby Shelton/BYU

PROVO, Utah — The 2025 BYU men’s volleyball team finished the season as the No. 8 team in the country, remaining in the Top 10 of the AVCA coaches poll for 46 consecutive weeks. The Cougars took home several MPSF accolades and national recognitions for a season full of highlights.

The Cougars finished with an overall record of 19-10, going 7-5 in conference play and 12-4 at home. BYU also finished ranked No. 17 in hitting percentage (.289), No. 20 in blocks per set (2.26), No. 28 in kills per set (11.82), No. 29 in assists per set (11.04) and No. 33 in aces per set (1.35).

BYU drew 63,898 fans through its 16 home matches, averaging the second-highest home attendance in the nation of 3,994 fans per game in the Smith Fieldhouse. The Cougars hosted their biggest crowd when rival and then-No. 4 ranked Hawaii came to Provo for the first time since 2019, boasting the 19th-largest home crowd in program history of 5,387 fans. It was also the second-highest home attendance in the last five years. Cougar Nation sold out the Smith Fieldhouse on back-to-back nights for the top-five matchup against the Rainbow Warriors.

BYU said goodbye to five seniors, who were all letterwinners, after the 2025 season: outside hitter Luke Benson, setter Noa Haine, outside hitter Miks Ramanis, middle blocker Teon Taylor and outside hitter Keoni Thiim.

Cougar Standouts

Cougar Standouts

Luke Benson - senior outside hitter

  • 2025 AVCA All-America Honorable Mention
  • 2025 All-MPSF First Team
  • Led the team in kills (342), kills per set (3.35) and points (406.0)
  • Led the team in kills in 13 different matches
  • Posted a season-high and team-high 23 kills in a 3-2 win at Ball State (1/17)
  • Finished his collegiate volleyball career with 894 kills, 151 blocks, 73 aces and 287 digs
25mVLB vs Pepperdine 4-18 134 (1)

Miks Ramanis - senior outside hitter

  • 2025 All-MPSF Second Team
  • Totaled 148 kills, 10 aces, 23 blocks and 56 digs in 2025
  • Left with a BYU record for the ninth-most career total attempts (2,125)
  • Finished with the eighth-most career aces (83) at BYU (rally scoring era)
  • Finished his collegiate volleyball career with 959 kills, 402 digs and 159 blocks
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Teon Taylor - senior middle blocker

  • Led the team in total blocks (114), block assists (99) and solo blocks (15) in 2025
  • Finished with the fifth-most career solo blocks (41) at BYU (rally scoring era)
  • Finished with 381 total blocks for the seventh-most all-time at BYU (rally scoring era)
  • Finished his collegiate volleyball career with 378 kills, 92 digs and 13 aces
  • The only player to start in all 29 of BYU’s matches in 2025
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Keoni Thiim - senior outside hitter

  • Led the team in aces (46) and aces per set (0.47) in 2025
  • Sixth-most aces in a single season all-time at BYU, with 46 aces (rally scoring era)
  • One of six players in BYU MVB history to record at least six aces in a single match (rally scoring era)
  • Totaled the second-most kills for BYU with 302 in 2025, averaging 3.08 kills per set
  • Finished his collegiate volleyball career with 491 kills, 117 aces and 72 blocks
  • Named 2025 Male Crowd Pleaser of the Year at the Y-Awards

 

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Teilon-Jonathan Tufuga - sophomore opposite/outside hitter

  • Totaled 194 kills (third-most), 134 digs, 40 blocks and 25 aces in 2025
  • Was one of two players to play in 100 percent of matches for BYU in 2025
  • Led the team in hitting percentage in five different matches
  • Posted a career-high four aces against STAC on Jan. 11

 

 

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Jackson Fife - junior libero

  • Led the team in digs (179) and digs per set (1.85) in 2025
  • Totaled 50 assists, playing in 97 sets in 2025
  • Tied his career-high in digs, with 12 in a 3-1 win over Stanford (4/4)

 

 

 

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Niko Hales - freshman middle blocker

  • Totaled 95 kills, 30 digs, 93 blocks (second-most) and seven aces in 2025
  • Went a perfect eight-for-eight in a 3-0 win over UCSB (2/8)
  • Tallied 14 solo blocks, tied for the 11th most in a single season for BYU (rally scoring era)

 

 

 

Season Highlights

BYU opened its 2025 campaign by going on a 6-game winning streak, with multiple road wins against both No. 11 Ohio State and No. 6 Ball State. As a result, the Cougars peaked at No. 5 in the AVCA coaches poll from Jan. 13-27, for BYU's first top-five ranking since 2021.

The Cougars continued to navigate a difficult non-conference schedule, later facing the then-ranked No. 2 UC Irvine on the road and No. 4 Hawaii at home, dropping all four matches, with two going into five sets. BYU concluded non-conference play with two wins over No. 15 UC Santa Barbara and Barry University, hosting the Pirates in their debut indoor men’s volleyball season. In BYU’s second match against UCSB, the Cougars posted 15 blocks for the second-most team blocks in the NCAA this season in a three-set match.

BYU would go on to appear in 20 top-15 matchups in 2025, including 10 top-10 matchups. Eight of BYU’s nine losses in the regular season occurred against top-five teams.

The Cougars went 7-5 in conference play, featuring two wins against the eventual MPSF champions, Pepperdine, from April 18-19. BYU was then voted as the No. 3 seed in the 2025 MPSF Tournament, advancing to the Quarterfinals to face the 6-seed Stanford. BYU would drop a tight, five-set match to the Cardinal to conclude its season, falling 3-2 (23-25, 25-19, 25-27, 25-19, 10-15).

BYU also faced UCLA in the MPSF’s first-ever nationally televised broadcast on the Big 10 Network on Saturday, April 12, with two-time Olympian Kevin Barnett (play-by-play) and Camryn Irwin (analyst) on the call.

The Cougars finished with 1,359 kills, 916 digs, 260 blocks and 155 aces for the fourth-most team aces in a single season in BYU men’s volleyball history (rally scoring era). Senior outside hitter Keoni Thiim contributed 46 of those aces for a record of the sixth-most aces all-time in a single season (rally scoring era).

BYU’s 2025 MPSF Weekly Award Winners

Week 1 - Luke Benson, Offensive Player of the Week (Jan. 6)

Week 1 - Teon Taylor, Defensive Player of the Week (Jan. 6)

Week 6 - Teon Taylor, Defensive Player of the Week (Feb. 10)

Final Week - Miks Ramanis, Offensive Player of the Week (April 21)

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Alumni Weekend

The Cougars hosted their first official Alumni weekend under head coach Shawn Olmstead, drawing in over 100 former players to Provo. Former and current players celebrated together from March 14-15, with a gathering and dinner program on Friday evening on BYU campus. 

BYU’s former players were also highlighted during the match against Harvard in front of 4,869 fans on March 15.

One player representative from each decade of the entire BYU men’s volleyball era spoke at the event, featuring Jeff Tuttle (1970s), Sam Atoa (1980s), Ethan Watts (1990s), Mac Wilson (2000s), Futi Tavana (2010s) and Wil Stanley (2020s).