PROVO, Utah — No. 7 BYU men’s volleyball secured a 3-0 sweep (25-23, 25-18, 25-15) over Menlo College Saturday night at the Smith Fieldhouse.
The Cougars’ win streak increased to seven games with the victory, with all seven of them coming in sweeps. BYU moves to 11-2 on the season and 2-0 in MPSF play.
The Cougars only trailed once in the match. BYU’s win margins from each set got larger as the match drew on to wear out Menlo.
Trevor Herget’s 11 kills on 15 swings and Teilon-Jonathan Tufuga’s seven kills led the way in the Cougar attack. Kyle Zediker posted a career-high four kills on five attacks, with Connor Oldani and Max Philippe also contributing four kills each. In his first career appearance for the Cougars, Tennison Lighthall put down two kills and a match-winning ace in his debut.
In addition to his career-high kill counter, Zediker dished out 28 assists for the BYU offense. The Cougars compiled eight service aces and eight blocks in the victory.
BYU hit .358 to Menlo’s .169 in the sweep.
Set 1
The Cougars and Oaks opened the match by alternating the first 10 points of the match. After BYU went up two off of two Menlo attack errors, the Oaks struck back with three kills to swing momentum their way. The Cougars answered with a 3-0 run and kills by Teilon-Jonathan Tufuga and Kyle Zediker. Both sides went on to once again exchange points with BYU keeping its two-point lead, 15-13, going into a media timeout after a kill by Tufuga and one from Trevor Herget.
The Cougar attack gradually began to extend its lead. A shared block by Gavin Chambers and Connor Oldani gave BYU a 17-14 lead, the first lead by at least three points so far in the match. Two more Zediker kills and a Trevor Herget ace put BYU ahead by five, 21-16. With those two kills, Zediker matched his single-match career high of three kills.
Menlo climbed back into the set with two kills and an ace to help pull within one. Kills by Oldani and Herget came in response to the comeback, but the Oaks capitalized on a service error with a block to tie it at 23 apiece. Thanks to two attack errors by Menlo, the Cougars took care of the first set, holding off the late surge from the Oaks, 25-23.
Set 2
BYU struck first with a 3-0 run to start the set, highlighted by two Oldani aces and a Herget kill. Both teams proceeded to go back-and-forth with BYU staying ahead by three. The Cougar lead grew to five with Max Philippe picking up an ace and Oldani and Tufuga getting a kill each. Menlo brought it to within two after two kills and a block before a Herget kill made it 15-12 going into the media timeout break.
The Cougar lead stayed at three with both teams exchanging points until Herget and Tufuga kills extended the advantage to five, 21-16. After both sides alternated errors, another Tufuga kill brought it to set point, then a Philippe-Herget block gave BYU the set win, putting the Cougars up in the match 2-0.
BYU led for the duration of the second set as there were no lead changes and no ties.
Set 3
The third set began with the Cougars and Oaks knotted up at two. The Cougar attack came alive with an Ian Little kill, two Tufuga kills and a Herget ace giving them a 7-3 advantage and forcing a Menlo timeout.
Two Oaks kills trimmed the BYU lead to two before Zediker tallied a kill and an ace to counter Menlo’s attack. Behind Philippe, Herget and Tennison Lighthall’s kill production, the Cougars rode the momentum on their way to a 17-9 lead. Lighthall’s kill marked the first of his career, immediately after subbing into his first career match. A pair of Menlo errors handed the Cougars a nine-point lead, their largest lead in any set in the match.
With the Oaks having their backs against the wall, they shrunk the lead to six with a block and a kill. Menlo’s attempts to take control of momentum was to no avail as a Little kill, Zediker-Philippe block and Chambers ace put BYU back up nine, 22-13. The Cougar attack didn’t give up any more ground as AJ Cottle subbed into the match for a single point and elevated for a kill and Lighthall’s second kill and first-career ace cemented the set at 25-15.
Up Next
The Cougars stay at home for two matchusp against Fort Valley next Friday and Saturday at the Smith Fieldhouse.