PROVO, Utah — After a hard-fought victory over Pepperdine the night before, BYU men’s volleyball fell to MPSF opponent No. 7 Pepperdine in a sweep (22-25, 21-25, 19-25) in the Firestone Fieldhouse on Saturday.
The Cougars now hold an overall season record of 8-12 are and 3-5 in the MPSF.
Pepperdine dominated offensively, racking up 47 kills and a .432 hitting percentage. BYU put up 37 kills and a .325 clip. The Cougars had nine service errors and only tallied eight digs, compared to Pepperdine’s 25 digs.
Pepperdine’s Jaylen Jasper led with 15 kills and a .571 hitting percentage. BYU senior outside hitter Davide Gardini put up 12 kills and a .269 clip.
SET ONE
The Waves started strong with a 5-0 run including three kills by Pepperdine’s Jacob Steele. Gardini stopped the run with BYU’s first kill of the night. The Waves had two errors to help the Cougars catch up, but tallied three kills to keep their lead at 8-4.
A 5-0 run by BYU, featuring a kill and an ace by freshman outside hitter Miks Ramanis, shifted the momentum and gave the Cougars their first lead of the set. The teams eventually worked to a tie score at 15-15. A Pepperdine ace and a BYU attack error eventually gave the Waves the edge.
This started the Waves on a 5-0 run to extend their lead to 20-15. Gardini and sophomore outside hitter Kupono Browne slammed kills to catch up, but Pepperdine matched their efforts. Two Pepperdine kills paired with two BYU errors allowed the Waves to take their first set-win at 25-22.
SET TWO
The Cougars got on the board with an attack error from the Waves. Pepperdine’s Steele notched a kill and started a run that featured four ties, but the Waves held a slight lead of 9-8.
The teams traded attack errors and kills, tying another three times by 12-12. Pepperdine broke away with a 3-0 run. Kills by Browne and Gardini and a BYU ace tied the set yet again at 18-18. Four BYU attack errors and two kills by Pepperdine’s Austin Wilmot allowed the Waves to secure their second set-win at 25-21.
SET THREE
Pepperdine’s Steele quickly tallied two kills to start the third set. The Cougars followed with a 3-0 run thanks to two attack errors by the Waves. The teams traded kills, including points by Gardini and freshman outside hitter Luke Benson. Benson’s addition allowed BYU to take the lead at 5-4.
From there, the score remained tight as the teams tied seven times by 13-13. The Waves took back their lead with a 5-1 run, including three BYU errors. An ace by senior opposite hitter Alex Ah Sue and kills by Benson and Gardini kept the Cougars close behind.
In the end, Pepperdine’s Jasper smashed his 14th and 15th kills of the night to give the Waves their third and final set-win at 25-19.
Up next, BYU will face Stanford for a two matches in the Maples Pavilion, starting on Friday, April 8 at 7 p.m. PST.