PROVO, Utah – No. 10 BYU swept Concordia University Irvine 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-21) Friday night, marking the Cougars’ first victory at home in nearly a month.
The victory moves the Cougars to 16-6 on the season, with their conference record now sitting at 3-2.
“I am really pleased with the guys' response to a tough road trip,” head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “Our block was in really good spots tonight, and our serving was great. Most important was to get our main guys back on the court to rebuild some confidence. I think we succeeded in that.”
The Cougars recorded 35 kills to the Golden Eagles’ 34. They also only had six attack errors to CUI’s 18 and scored five service aces while allowing just one from their opponent.
Three Cougars led the team in kills, with Teilon-Jonathan Tufuga, Trent Moser and Connor Oldani each claiming eight. Freshman AJ Cottle added five kills hitting .625 from the floor while recording seven total blocks.
Tufuga led the team in digs with five and senior Tyler Herget led BYU in assists, distributing 28 in just three sets. Gavin Chambers also added four kills with two blocks.
The Victory marks Olmstead's 203rd win as the men's volleyball head coach, putting him two games behind Carl McGown's 205 career wins and the most for a coach in program history. The win gives Olmstead the chance to tie and break the record in the Smith Fieldhouse before the end of the month.
The Cougars broke a two-game losing streak after dropping both matches on the road against No. 18 Stanford and recorded their first sweep since March 6.
Set 1
The match began with the Golden Eagles scoring the first point of the set before both teams ensued in back-and-forth play. Kills from AJ Cottle and Gavin Chambers kept BYU ahead, alongside a 5-0 run, before a timeout was called with the score 15-9 favoring BYU.
Through the next section of play, the Cougars outscored CUI 4-2, moving their lead to 19-11.
The teams once again traded points before BYU ended the set with a kill from Tufuga at 25-17, securing a 1-0 lead heading into set two.
Set 2
BYU opened the second set of play with a 4-0 run, featuring a kill from Oldani and a service ace from Herget, prompting a CUI timeout early in the set.
Chambers and Moser scored two more kills for the Cougars before the Golden Eagles answered with one of their own. A service error and another kill from Chambers then put BYU ahead 11-5.
Kills from both teams moved the score to 20-11 in favor of BYU, forcing another Golden Eagles timeout.
BYU took the second set following a CUI service error, moving the final score of the set to 25-14 and giving the Cougars a 2-0 advantage headed into the third set of play.
Set 3
The Cougars jumped to a 4-1 lead at the start of the third set, with an ace from Tefuga capping off the hot start.
After back-and-forth play, the Golden Eagles put together a 3-0 run before Oldani’s kill halted the visitors’ momentum, keeping BYU ahead 11-8.
The teams again traded scores with CUI committing service errors on back-to-back serves, pushing the score to 15-11.
CUI inched closer to the Cougars’ lead, moving just one point behind at 16-15 after a 3-0 run. A service error and kill from Cottle slowed the Golden Eagles’ offensive surge, keeping BYU ahead with a two-point advantage at 18-16.
The Golden Eagles continued to keep it close despite BYU consistently capitalizing. A CUI error off the serve then forced a timeout, with BYU ahead 23-20. Two more service errors from both teams put BYU at 24.
The Cougars claimed set three and the match following a block from Cottle and Herget at 25-21, marking BYU’s sweep and first victory in the Smith Fieldhouse since Feb. 21.
Up Next
BYU returns to the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday, March 21, at 7 p.m. MT for the second match against Concordia Irvine, with streaming available on B1G+.