SANTA BARBARA -- After losing set one, the No. 2 BYU men's volleyball team (11-3) rallied back to win the next three on its way to a road victory (15-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-20) over No. 4 UC Santa Barbara, Thursday.
Freshman Taylor Sander led the Cougars, and all players, with 17 kills against the Gauchos for his eighth time to record double-digit kills this season and also tied his career-high with three services aces.
Joining Sander in double figures was junior Robb Stowell with 14 kills while also adding a game-high six blocks. Futi Tavana also recorded six blocks in the win.
After losing set one the Cougars took back set two in a close 25-23 final, and sets three and four in identical 25-20 victories.
The Gauchos recorded a .288 hitting percentage compared to BYU's close .275 but the Cougars tallied 12.5 blocks to just six from UCSB. Five players for BYU recorded three or more blocks against the Gauchos.
The series continues tomorrow when BYU plays UCSB again in the Thunderdome at 7 p.m. PT. Follow the game here on Gametracker.