PROVO, Utah — No. 3 BYU men’s volleyball travels to California this week for back-to-back matches against No. 9 UC Santa Barbara Friday, Feb. 1 and Saturday, Feb. 2 at Robertson Gymnasium.
No. 3 BYU (4-0)
The Cougars are coming off of a bye week after two road victories in Pennsylvania over Penn State (3-2) and Saint Francis (3-0) the week before.
BYU currently sits in first place in the MPSF conference standings with a perfect 4-0 record. The team ranks second in the conference in hitting percentage, opponent hitting percentage and blocks.
Sophomore opposite hitter Gabi Garcia Fernandez had a career-high 27 kills in a five-set thriller over Penn State on Jan. 18, and leads the MPSF in kills and points.
Freshman outside hitter Davide Gardini had a career-high four service aces in the Cougars’ sweep over Saint Francis on Jan. 19, and sits in second place in the MPSF in aces with .50 per set.
No. 9 UC Santa Barbara (7-3)
The Gauchos are currently riding a four-match win streak with victories over three ranked teams in No. 7 Loyola Chicago, No. 10 Lewis and No. 11 Ball State.
UCSB is averaging 11.88 kills per set on a .317 hitting percentage, led by senior outside hitter Corey Chavers, who is averaging 3.52 kills per set at a .342 clip.
Freshman middle blocker Brandon Hicks leads the team in total blocks with 29 and is averaging 1.16 blocks per set over his 25 sets played.
BYU leads the all-time series against UCSB 42-22, and the Cougars have won eight of the last 10 meetings.
Links for live stats and streaming can be found on the men's volleyball schedule page.