PROVO, Utah – Felipe de Brito Ferreira had a career-high 13 total blocks, the most for a Cougar since 2014, to lead No. 9 BYU men’s volleyball to a 3-1 (28-26, 27-25, 22-25, 26-24) win over No. 6 Pepperdine on Saturday night in the Smith Fieldhouse.

BYU vs. Pepperdine Box Score

“The team found a way to grind throughout the entire match," BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. "It was kind of an up-and-down match on both sides but I liked that we stayed the course and found a way to win.”

Gabi Garcia Fernandez led all players with 20 kills and added a career-high nine blocks and eight digs. Davide Gardini added 17 kills, seven digs and five blocks, while Brody Earnest tallied a career-high 40 assists in his first start at BYU.

In the first set, both teams traded points until the Waves (15-6, 5-3 MPSF) took a 6-4 advantage after scoring three-straight. With Pepperdine on top, 14-12, a kill by Andrew Lincoln and an attack error evened the game at 14-all. Back-to-back kills by Garcia Fernandez and another error by the Waves gave the Cougars (11-6, 6-3 MPSF) a 19-16 lead.  At set point for Pepperdine, the Waves suffered a service error to once again even the game. Two points later, the score was still tied before blocks by de Brito Ferreira and Garcia Fernandez closed the set as BYU claimed a 28-16 win.

Set two was evenly matched as the Cougars and Waves found themselves unable to score more than two points in a row. With the score tied at 15, Pepperdine took advantage of a BYU service error and scored three-straight points to take an 18-15 lead. Following a timeout, Miki Jauhiainen, Gardini and Garcia Fernandez recorded one kill apiece to once again tie the game up, 18-18. A long rally on set point resulted in a block by Gardini and Garcia Fernandez as the Cougars took a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Waves jumped to a 6-4 lead in the third set. A Jauhiainen kill, a Pepperdine error and another Garcia Fernandez kill gave BYU the advantage, 11-9. A 5-0 run by the Waves gave the lead back, 15-12. Back-to-back kills by the Cougars evened the game at 16-16, but Pepperdine answered by taking a 21-18 advantage. BYU fought back to even the game at 22-all when Garcia Fernandez hit back-to-back kills, but the Waves went on to take set three, 25-22.

The momentum was in favor of the Cougars in the fourth set as they took an 11-6 lead and forced a Pepperdine timeout. BYU held the lead until a 4-1 run by the Waves brought the score to 16-all. The Cougars continued to fight and took a three-point lead once again, 20-17. BYU pulled ahead to match point, but Pepperdine scored three-straight to tie the game at 24-24. After a timeout Lincoln recorded a kill and then an attack error after his serve the take the set and the match, 26-24. 

The Cougars will return to the Smith Fieldhouse as they host the BYU Invitational on Mar. 21-23. The first game will take place at 7 p.m. MDT against Princeton on Thursday, Mar. 21. The game will be televised live on BYUtv.

PROVO, Utah — No. 9 BYU resumes MPSF play this week with matches against No. 4 UCLA on Thursday and No. 6 Pepperdine on Saturday at home in the Smith Fieldhouse.

Week 10 Match Notes

No. 9 BYU (9-6, 3-2 MPSF)

• The Cougars rose in the rankings to No. 9 after a four-set victory over No. 3 UC Irvine last Thursday in the Smith Fieldhouse, followed by a close loss the following day.

• BYU recorded 12 blocks in the win over UCI, marking the second time this season the Cougars have totaled 12 or more blocks in a match. BYU leads the MPSF in blocks per set with 2.49 and junior middle blocker Miki Jauhiainen leads the conference individually with 1.24 blocks per set after he had nine against UCI. Nationally, the Cougars rank No. 5 in blocks and Jauhiainen ranks No. 7.

• Gabi Garcia Fernandez and Davide Gardini continue to lead the Cougars on offense, both totaling more than 20 kills each in the win over UCI. Garcia Fernandez leads the MPSF and is second in the nation in kills per set with a 4.41 average.

• Felipe de Brito Ferreira was the bright spot in the Saturday’s loss for the Cougars, going off for two career highs with 12 kills and a .857 hitting percentage, giving him the best hitting percentage at BYU (minimum 12 kills) since 2006 when Yosleyder Cala had an identical hitting line of 12-0-14. De Brito Ferreira is now tied for the second-best hitting percentage on a 12-kill minimum in BYU history.

• BYU remains in a tie for third place in the MPSF with Stanford at 4-3. Both teams are undefeated at home in conference play but have also yet to win a match on the road.

No. 4 UCLA (16-4, 6-0 MPSF)

• The Bruins arrive in Provo on a six-game win streak, including sweeps over Ohio State and Penn State last week. They sit atop the MPSF with perfect 6-0 record.

• The Cougars have a narrow lead in the all-time series, 35-34, but have already dropped a match to the Bruins this season in a four-set loss in Los Angeles.

• Junior middle blocker Daenan Gyimah leads the MPSF in hitting percentage at .527, while senior setter Micah Ma’a leads the conference in service aces with .57 per set and ranks second in assists with 10.31 per set.

• The UCLA offense ranks second in the MPSF in kills with 13 per set on a conference-leading .338 hitting percentage. The Bruins average just 1.9 blocks per set, however, compared to a 2.5 average for the staunch Cougar defense.

No. 6 Pepperdine (14-5, 4-2 MPSF)

• The Waves participated in the Outrigger Invitational in Hawai’i last week, where they swept Ball State and King before falling to No. 2 Hawai’i. The currently sit in second in the MPSF with a 4-2 conference record.

• Pepperdine leads the all-time series, 33-31, including a sweep over the Cougars last month in Malibu to open conference play. BYU won the previous four matchups.

• Last time Pepperdine played BYU, the Waves had 13 service aces, and currently have two players in the top five in the conference in aces per set. David Wieczorek sits in second with a .48 average while Michael Wexter ranks fourth with a .35 average.

• The Waves lead the MPSF in assists, kills and digs, but the Cougars have a 2.5-1.8 advantage in blocks per set and hold opponents to a .264 hitting percentage, compared to .294 for the Waves.

Both matches will be broadcast live on BYUtv and live stats can be found on the schedule page.