PROVO -- In front of a season-high attendance of 4,101 the No. 3 BYU men's volleyball team extended its at-home winning streak to 4-0 as they rolled past the UCLA Bruins in a 25-21, 27-25, 25-20 sweep.
“Winning that second game was the difference for us tonight,” said BYU interim head coach Rob Nielson. “We did a great job of attacking in stretches and it carried us through the matches.”
Kevin Sagers had a successful night, gaining season highs with his eight kills, four digs and two serving aces.
Junior Rob Stowell led the team in kills with 17 on an overall .625 hitting percentage. Stowell recorded double-digit kills in both matches against the Bruins.
Coming back from a three-point deficit in the first set, the Cougars tied the game at 16-16 and took their first lead at 17-16 before taking advantage of a service ace from Sagers. BYU finished the set at 25-21.
Trailing in the second set, the Cougars again battled back to tie up the score at 17. After intense back-and-forth rallying, Stowell sealed the win at 27-25 while contributing a set-high eight kills.
The Cougars took the early lead in set three at 4-3 and continued to lead throughout the set. BYU sealed the overall victory as they finished the set at 25-20.
The Bruins had no players in double figures for kills but were led offensively by Weston Dunlap who hit .545 on the night. The Cougars recorded four service aces to UCLA's one and 9.5 team blocks to UCLA's 9. BYU also hit .321 as a team compared to the .183 attack from the Bruins.
The Cougars will next compete in Chicago on Feb. 11 against Loyola.