PROVO, Utah – No. 8 BYU men’s volleyball fell in four sets No. 1 UCLA (20-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-18) on Thursday night in the MPSF Tournament Semifinals at the Smith Fieldhouse.
“We were right where we needed to be with our game plan,” head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “Our guys executed well and came out the right way. They stayed steady and made good decisions. Defensively, we did everything that first set, and then it just became too much. From our serving, finishing without an ace, you can’t expect to compete with an offense like that. You have to find ways to manufacture points on your side, and we didn’t.”
Coming into the match, BYU had won 16 consecutive MPSF Tournament matches at home, with their last tournament loss coming in 2011. That streak came to an end as the Bruins showed why they’re the No. 1 team in the country.
The Cougars won the first set 25-20, but UCLA would then dominate the next three to earn its spot in Saturday’s championship game against USC.
Tyler Herget posted 29 assists in tonight’s matchup, which earned him the No. 5 mark as a Cougar for career assists, surpassing BYU women’s head coach Rob Neilson as Herget now has 2,814 in his career.
Trent Moser and Connor Oldani each recorded 10 kills to lead the Cougars. Moser hit .600 while Oldani had a .231 clip. Cole Hauser added six kills. Both Gavin Chambers and AJ Cottle racked up five blocks each.
Set 1
BYU opened with a 3-1 run, powered by kills from AJ Cottle and Moser. After trading points, the Cougars built up an 11-7 lead following three-straight points.
The Bruins tried to cut into the lead, but BYU’s front row helped the Cougars hold their advantage. Another Cottle kill and a Bruin attack error forced UCLA to call a timeout with BYU still ahead, 19-14.
UCLA cut the deficit to two late in the set as it went on a 3-0 spurt. The Cougars would not allow this momentum longer, as after a Bruin service error, Hauser and Oldani posted back-to-back kills to win the opening set, 25-20.
Led by Moser’s four, the Cougars had 13 kills in the first set. Additionally, BYU’s first five kills of the match came from five different hitters in Moser, Cottle, Hauser, Gavin Chambers and Oldani.
UCLA racked up seven service errors in the first set compared to one service error from BYU.
Set 2
The Bruins kick-started the second frame with three-straight points on a Cougar service error and two consecutive kills, taking their first lead of the match. BYU then added two points to the board, but UCLA remained ahead as it went on another 3-0 spurt, pushing a 6-2 lead.
The set continued to be a flurry of 3-0 runs for the Bruins, as they built up a 9-4 lead, which forced a Cougar timeout. Out of the timeout, BYU recorded three-straight points of its own.
After UCLA reached a five-point lead, Hauser and Moser combined for three consecutive kills, trimming the Bruins’ lead to 15-13 and forcing a UCLA timeout.
The Bruins returned from the timeout with a 4-1 run. Oldani and Herget then accounted for BYU’s next two points, but late Cougar errors would help UCLA win set two, 25-19.
UCLA led for the entire second set.
Set 3
BYU got on the board first following a Bruin service error, but then UCLA went on a 5-1 run. A Gavin Chambers block and kill marked the Cougars’ next two points, but the Bruins would still hold a 9-6 lead.
Three of UCLA’s next four points would be Cougar errors, which kept it ahead 14-8 going into a media timeout. Oldani knocked down two kills out of the timeout, but three consecutive UCLA points kept it ahead by eight.
After calling a timeout, BYU responded with a 3-1 run. The teams traded points, but a Bruin ace brought up set point. A service error delayed it briefly before UCLA finished it off with a kill, 25-17.
After hitting .333 in the first set and .261 in the second, BYU hit .125 in the third set.
Set 4
UCLA opened the fourth set with a 3-1 spurt, and later advanced its lead to 8-3 to force the Cougars to call a timeout.
Out of the timeout, the Bruins extended their run to 6-0 off of two-straight kills and a BYU error. A UCLA service error sparked a one-for-one point exchange across the 14 points. The Cougars broke away from the trend as three straight Bruin errors helped them cut the deficit to five and force a timeout.