PROVO, Utah — No. 7 BYU men’s volleyball earned a 3-0 sweep (25–21, 25–18, 25–21) over Menlo College Friday night at the Smith Fieldhouse in the MPSF opener for both teams.
BYU improved to 10-2 on the season and extended its winning streak to six matches, all in sweeps, with its only two losses this season coming in five sets to No. 5 UC Irvine.
The Cougars built momentum as the match progressed, overcoming early deficits in each set to take control. Menlo scored the first two points in all three frames, but BYU responded with steady sideout play and increased pressure from the service line to create separation late in each set.
“Menlo came out and played really well early, and credit to them,” BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “We just needed to be more assertive and aggressive attacking. I told the guys it was under their control, and credit to them, they responded with some really nice runs, especially from the service line.”
Trevor Herget led BYU with a career-high 11 kills, while Gavin Chambers added a career-high five kills. Ian Little posted a season-high six kills off the bench, providing a spark in the final two sets. Connor Oldani finished with eight kills on .438 hitting, and Max Philippe added four kills while contributing at the net.
Tyler Herget distributed 38 assists as BYU spread the offense across the front row, while the Cougars totaled five service aces and six team blocks in the sweep.
BYU hit .333 as a team and held Menlo to a .253 hitting percentage in the match.
Set 1
Menlo came out sharp, opening the match with six kills on its first eight swings to seize early momentum. The Oaks used efficient sideout play and steady pressure at the net to build their early advantage and maintained at least a three-point cushion for much of the frame, holding BYU at arm’s length through the media timeout at 15-12. BYU stayed within striking distance behind timely offense from Oldani and Philippe, but struggled to generate sustained runs early as Menlo continued to answer each Cougar push.
The Cougars found their rhythm coming out of the media timeout, tightening defensively and gaining traction from the service line to erase the deficit. BYU tied the set for the first time since the start of the match at 15-15, then took its first lead at 16-15 on a brother-to-brother connection from Tyler to Trevor Herget. The Herget brothers continued to fuel the late surge as BYU extended the margin to 21–18 and carried the momentum into the closing points, closing the set, 25–21.
BYU hit .429 in the opening set, compared to Menlo’s .485, with Trevor Herget leading the Cougars with seven kills, Oldani adding six kills on .500 hitting and Tyler Herget distributing 15 assists in the frame.
Set 2
The teams traded points through the opening stretch, with the score tied at 4-4 before BYU began to create separation. Trevor Herget matched his single-match career-high of seven kills on the Cougars’ second point of the set, helping spark a run that pushed the lead to 7-5 and then 9-6. BYU continued to apply pressure in transition and from the service line, extending the margin to 14-9 before stretching the lead to 15-9 at the media timeout following a 6-2 run.
BYU carried the momentum out of the break, as Tyler Herget found Trevor Herget for a key point to extend the lead to 16-10. The Cougars answered each Menlo response with timely kills from Teilon-Jonathan Tufuga, while Ian Little provided a spark off the bench with a right-side kill to make it 18-13. Menlo briefly cut into the deficit, but BYU responded with steady execution to push the lead back to 20-15, forcing the Oaks into a timeout.
The Cougars put the set away with a decisive late run, as Tufuga delivered a service ace and followed with a kill to push the lead to 22-15, prompting another Menlo timeout. Trevor Herget added two more kills down the stretch, including the set clincher off a feed from his brother, Tyler, as BYU closed out the frame, 25-18.
Set 3
For the third straight set, Menlo opened with the first two points, continuing a trend from the opening frames, and quickly extended the lead to 3-0. BYU responded by capitalizing on Oaks errors and settled into the frame, using points from Chambers and Tufuga to erase the deficit and take its first lead at 6-5. Little provided a spark offensively, helping BYU build momentum as the Cougars pushed the margin to 9-6 following a service ace from Chambers, forcing Menlo into an early timeout.
BYU carried the momentum out of the break, extending the lead to 10-6 before Menlo answered with a brief push to close the gap. The Cougars maintained control behind steady production from Little and Philippe, building the lead to 15-10 before Menlo mounted a response. The Oaks strung together points to cut the deficit to one at 17-16, but BYU answered with a timely double block from Cole Hauser and Chambers to halt the run.
The Cougars created separation down the stretch with pressure from the service line, including a service ace from Hauser that pushed the lead to 20-16. Menlo briefly closed within two late, but BYU responded with key points in transition, highlighted by a solo block from Philippe to make it 23-19. Freshman AJ Cottle delivered a kill to bring up match point, and BYU closed out the sweep on a Menlo service error to take the set, 25-21.
Up Next
The same two teams will meet again Saturday night at the Smith Fieldhouse to conclude the weekend series. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT.