MVLB–Cougars Get a Good Night Sweep

The Cougars played at the home of the University of California, San Diego with high hopes to make up for a two night loss against Stanford at home. With a first night sweep for BYU, the final scores were 27-25, 25-21, 25-20.  Senior opposite hitter, Robb Stowell (#13) lead the offense with 11 kills, while middle blocker Russ Lavaja (#5) took the helm of the defense with six blocks. With Taylor Sander (#15) still out, freshman outside hitter Tyler Albertson (#16) got his chance to stand out. He really proved himself as he lead the back row with a game high of 10 digs.

The Cougars got a head start as they lead the first set for a while, until the Tritons of UCSD fought back and tied the game at 12. The Tritons had a water break and sipped on some adrenaline, putting them up on the scoreboard 17-13. BYU came with their own shining moment and caught up to the Tritons, tying the game up at 17. The scores began to bounce back and forth until BYU came to take the set 27-25.

With the excitement of a victory in set one, the Cougars had no problem defeating the Tritons again. The game started off quickly, putting BYU up five points, thanks to some hard swings from Puerto Rican sensation, Josue Rivera (#6). More pumped up swings took the Cougars to a victory in set two with the final score being 25-21.

Hoping for a good nights sweep, the Cougars fought hard, and so did the Tritons. Both teams kept it close, due to kills from setter Joe Kauliakamoa (#8), which is ironic, and blocks from Russ Lavaja and Tyler Albertson. UC San Diego refused to let them go spotless, so they tied the game up at ten. BYU pushed the set even further and made sure that the Tritons wouldn't get that close again. The third set was closed off by BYU, ending the match with a set score of 25-20.