PROVO, Utah — For the second straight weekend, BYU men's volleyball fans will be treated to a homecourt Top-10 matchup as the No. 8 Cougars (4-0) host the No. 5 UC Irvine Anteaters (5-0) for two matches this weekend.
About the Cougars
BYU started off the season with back-to-back 3-0 sweeps over Saint Francis two weekends ago and a sweep and 3-1 victory over No. 10 UC San Diego last weekend, with all matches in a raucus Smith Fieldhouse. BYU has started the season 2-0 for the fourth consecutive season and 4-0 for the second season in a row.
Senior outside hitter Trent Moser has led the way offensively this season with 3.31 kills per set on a .354 hitting percentage.
Freshman middle blocker AJ Cottle had a record-setting night last Saturday, registering 10 kills on 10 swings. He's the first player in the rally-scoring era at BYU to hit 1.000 in a match while tallying 10 or more kills. He also had a career-high 11 blocks, one away from matching the 10th-most blocks in a single match. Cottle was named MPSF Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
Last Saturday’s match against UC San Diego ended in wild fashion. The score went all the way to 35-33 in the final set as the Cougars fought off four UC San Diego set points and eventually won of BYU's sixth match point. The last time BYU men’s volleyball played in a set that went to 35 points or higher was the NCAA-record-setting 45-43 set the Cougars played in 2021 at Grand Canyon. Before that, you’d need to go back to a 37-35 set in 2014 at Hawaii.
Entering the week, the Cougars and Anteaters are two of eight Division I teams that are undefeated with two or more wins this season.
About the Anteaters
UC Irvine moved up to No. 5 in the AVCA rankings after improving to 5-0 with a 3-0 sweep of No. 18 Princeton in the home opener, followed by a 3-1 upset on No. 3 Pepperdine on the road last week.
UCI is playing six of its first seven matches away from Irvine.
This weekend features two of the best blockers in country with UCI's Trevor Clark and BYU's AJ Cottle. Clark ranks 15th in blocks (1.31), while Cottie is seventh (1.46). Clark recorded seven total blocks versus Harvard (three solo), That mark is tied for third most in a match in the country this season.
Over the first five matches, UCI has out-aced its opponents, 36-6. The Anteaters' 2.38 aces per set are the fourth most in the nation.
Freshman Andrej Jokanovic leads the Anteaters with a 3.50 kill/set average followed by Clark at 2.06 and William D'Arcy at 2.00 kills per set.
Clark leads the Big West in hitting percentage at .604, while Micah Goss is third (.500) and D'Arcy is fourth (.491). The Anteaters' team hitting percentage of .423 is the third best in the nation.
All-Time Series
This weekend marks the 77th meeting between these teams. BYU leads the overall series 51-25, but UCI has won the past four contests, with the Cougars’ last win coming in 2023. BYU is 27-7 all-time against UCI at the Smith Fieldhouse.
Broadcast Information
Both matches this weekend will be available to stream live on either BYUtv.org/the BYUtv app or on Big Ten Plus.