PROVO, Utah – Sophomore Jake Langlois’ 14 kills led No. 7 BYU men’s volleyball past No. 4 UCLA (17-25, 26-24, 25-20, 25-15) for a second-consecutive night Saturday at the Smith Fieldhouse.
“Tonight was a testament to our depth,” BYU men’s volleyball coach Chris McGown said. “We had guys come in and play really well. We had to fight, and having to do that was good for us.”
Tim Dobbert tallied 13 kills, and both Phil Fuchs and Michael Hatch recorded career highs in kills with 12 and 8, respectively. Langlois and Joseph Grosh finished with three blocks each. Langlois also led the team with 13 digs.
The Bruins jumped out to an early 7-2 lead to begin the first set. The Cougars closed the gap a couple of points later to 7-4, but UCLA went on another run. Trailing 20-10, BYU closed the gap using a 7-4 rally of its own, led by a couple of kills from Hatch and a pair of blocks from Langlois. The short shift in momentum was not enough as UCLA took the first set, 25-17.
The second set went back-and-forth from the start until kills by Dobbert and Langlois broke a 13-13 tie and gave the Cougars a 15-13 edge. The Bruins took the lead back a few moments later at 23-21, but kills by Fuchs and Langlois tied the match at 23-23. After a shot went long for BYU while holding a 24-23 lead, the Cougars' Langlois and Hatch won the next two points with kills as BYU took the second set, 26-24.
BYU took a timeout after UCLA took an early 5-1 lead in the third set. A Langlois kill after the timeout sparked a 12-7 Cougar run that gave BYU the lead midway through the set, 13-12. After taking its largest lead of the set at 23-18 following a Bruin error, Langlois closed out the set a few points later with a kill. With the 25-20 win, the Cougars held a 2-1 set lead.
BYU built a 9-4 advantage to begin the fourth set, prompting a UCLA timeout. After the break, two kills by Fuchs ignited a 9-3 Cougar rally to take an 18-7 lead. BYU rode the momentum the rest of the way as a Hatch kill clinched the set and the match for the Cougars, 25-15.
With the win, BYU extended its home winning streak to 28-straight matches. The Cougars will return to action on the road against UC Santa Barbara next Friday 7 p.m. PST. Links to live stats can be found on the BYU men's volleyball schedule page.