PROVO, Utah – After taking the first two sets, No. 8 BYU fell in a reverse sweep as No. 5 UC Irvine won the next three sets, handing the Cougars their first loss of the 2026 season.
“This one's really going to sting,” said Shawn Olmstead, BYU head coach. “That's part of athletics, but it’s still going to sting, because we had what we needed. We just have to continue to play aggressive, assertive, good volleyball — hitting the ball in the court, hitting in the frame, giving it heat … They’re a good team, we knew that and down the stretch they made the plays they needed. No doubt about that — they did really well."
In an all-around even match, BYU edged UC Irvine in hitting percentage, .355 to .322, while both teams recorded 61 kills. The Cougars also held the advantage at the net, finishing with 11 blocks to UCI’s seven.
BYU’s season-high 61 kills were fueled by career nights from its two outside hitters. Junior Teilon-Jonathan Tufuga led the way with 18 kills, while sophomore Connor Oldani added 17.
Defensively, Gavin Chambers posted a career high eight blocks, accounting for eight of BYU’s 11 on the night.
The Cougars totaled 57 assists, with Tyler Herget setting a season high by dishing out 54 of them.
Set 1
After trading points to begin the match, BYU was able to score the first consecutive points initiated by a block from Tufuga which sparked a 4-0 run to make the score 5-1.
With BYU ahead 14-7, the Anteaters went on their most successful run of the opening set when they scored five of the next seven points to make the score 16-12.
With neither squad able to take control of the set, the Cougars went on their second 4-0 run of the evening with a kill from AJ Cottle followed by an assisted block from both him and Trent Moser.
After BYU had a 20-12 lead, both teams consecutively traded points with Oldani and Chambers providing the last two kills to get the Cougars within two of the set victory.
The set concluded 25-16. The 16 points in the set were the fewest UC Irvine has scored in 15 sets this season. The Cougars held the Anteaters to a .103 hitting percentage.
Set 2
A kill from Moser off an assist from Tyler Herget kept the momentum in the Cougars’ favor going into the second set.
An attacking error from Micah Goss was followed by a series of six straight kills for both teams, with Herget continuing to add to his assist total, racking up three more of them.
After four straight service errors and a kill from Oldani made the score 9-5, UC Irvine went on its first three-point run of the match on its way to having a 7-3 run to even the score 12-12.
With the score tied, Moser tallied back-to-back kills, igniting BYU to a 3-0 run to regain its lead, 15-12.
The Anteaters were able to regain their footing after the media timeout, going on a 4-3 run to make the score 18-16.
This was combatted by the Cougars who went on a 4-1 run with a pair of kills from Oldani as well as Trevor Herget contributing his first kill of the night.
With the score at 23-19, Cottle helped push the Cougars to set point, then sealed the win by delivering the final dagger off an assist from Herget.
Set 3
For the third straight set, BYU got the lead early, this time off a block from Oldani and Chambers.
This was countered by UCI who after back-to-back points took its first lead of the evening, having trailed or been tied for the entirety of the first two sets.
After both teams traded points in succession to make the score 7-6 for the visitors, UCI broke the pattern with a service ace giving the Anteaters an 8-6 lead.
Now behind 11-9, the Cougars reestablished control with a 4-1 run to make the score 13-12, the last point coming off a block from Herget and Cottle.
The Anteaters rebounded with four straight which engineered them to a 7-2 run, their best of the night.
Down 19-15, the Cougars called a timeout which was followed by a series of errors, five of which committed by UCI, which got BYU within one at 22-21.
Out from the UCI timeout, the visitors were able to extend their lead, but this was followed by a kill from Tufuga as well as service ace courtesy of Ian Little off the bench, which evened the score 23-23, inciting another Anteaters timeout.
After trading points, UC Irvine was able to clinch its first set of the evening off back-to-back kills, 26-24.
Set 4
Entering the fourth set, Tufuga got BYU the momentum on the Cougars’ side early, being responsible for two kills, anchoring the Cougars to a 3-1 lead.
This was followed by the Anteaters’ second 4-0 run of the match on their way to a 9-3 stretch, prompting a BYU timeout. After trading points to make the score 13-9 for UCI, a pair of kills from Moser helped close in the gap.
Another surge by UC Irvine gave the Anteaters a 19-14 lead, which eventually halted with another successful string of points by Tufuga where he had three kills to get the Cougars within three, now down 20-17.
After UCI made the score 22-17, BYU went on its first four-point run since the opening set to get within one, this streak featured back-to-back kills from Trevor Herget and another from Oldani.
With the score 23-22, both teams traded points until UC Irvine secured the fourth set off a service error, the final being 25-23.
Set 5
In what became a pattern the entire evening, BYU got the lead first, this time off an unassisted kill by Herget.
After the Anteaters rallied to even the score, the Cougars responded with a 4-1 run, featuring a pair of assisted blocks and kills from both Oldani and Tufuga.
Coming out of the timeout, UCI was able to rebound to make the score 6-4, but this was countered by Oldani who hammered back-to-back kills, followed by Tufuga earning another of his own to make it 9-4 for BYU.
Needing another comeback to stay alive, UCI answered once again, this time going on a 4-2 scoring stretch to make it 11-8.
After a kill from Herget, the Anteaters kept the momentum by scoring the next five points, leading to another Cougar timeout as they now trailed 13-12.
Following the timeout, Tufuga earned his 18th kill of the night, which tied it 13-13. After getting within match point, the Anteaters secured the comeback win off a block, making it the final 15-13.
Up Next
BYU and UCI face each other again tomorrow night, on Saturday Jan. 24 at 7 p.m., at the Smith Fieldhouse with streaming on Big Ten Plus, on BYUtv.org and on the BYUtv app.