PROVO, Utah — No. 2 BYU men’s volleyball took down No. 3 UC Santa Barbra in five sets (23-25, 25-22, 20-25, 28-26, 15-11) at the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday to stay perfect on the year. 

BYU vs. UCSB Box Score

"I'm really proud of the guys, especially in a match where we didn't necessarily play our best," BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. "A lot of credit goes to our opponent, they got our guys flustered. It's a good learning experience for the guys and I'm happy with how they performed under pressure."

Opposite hitter Gabi Garcia Fernandez moved up to No. 2 on BYU's top 10 all-time aces list (rally era) with 118 career aces. The junior passed Brenden Sander (116) to move into second and now trails Taylor Sander's 182 career aces. Garcia Fernandez also posted his third-straight double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs to go along with two solo blocks and four service aces.

Zach Eschenberg finished with 12 kills on a .333 clip, seven digs, two aces and a team-high four blocks while outside hitter Davide Gardini had 12 kills, nine digs and an ace. Middle blocker Felipe de Brito Ferreira added nine kills hitting .467. Setter Wil Stanley recorded his third double-double of the season with 38 assists and 11 digs and libero Mitchel Worthington ended with seven digs and a career-high seven assists.

Set 1
The first set was tightly contested as neither BYU (10-0) or UCSB (6-2) could gain an edge. Back-to-back blocks by Miki Jauhiainen and Eschenberg gave the Cougars their biggest lead at 8-5. Both squads battled back and forth before the Gauchos took the first set, 25-23. 

Set 2
BYU dug out of a 3-0 deficit to take a 5-3 lead in the second game and the Cougars maintained control for the remainder of the set. Gardini dropped a kill to give BYU an 18-15 edge. Kills by Eschenberg, Garcia Fernandez and de Brito Ferreira clinched the set for the Cougars, 25-22.

Set 3
Both teams continued to trade blows in the third set with Garcia Fernandez posting three kills and a solo block to help BYU to a 13-10 lead. Following a 15-15 tie, the Gauchos outscored the Cougars 10-5 to claim the third set.

Set 4
De Brito Ferreira dropped four kills and two block assists while Garcia Fernandez had two service aces and three kills to lead BYU in the fourth game. Neither team could find separation throughout the entire set with the score eventually being knotted up at 25. The Cougars capitalized on two UCSB errors before a Garcia Fernandez ace gave BYU the 28-26 win to force a fifth set. 

Set 5
A solo block by Eschenberg followed by a kill by de Brito Ferreira brought the score to 4-all to start the fifth game. Two kills by Eschenberg and a solo block from Garcia Fernandez fueled a 7-0 run to put the Cougars up 11-4. The Gauchos answered with a 6-1 run to bring the score within two points, 12-10. A kill by de Brito Ferreira forced match point before a Garcia Fernandez ace completed the comeback, 15-11

BYU will remain at home to open MPSF play against No. 8 UCLA on Thursday, Feb. 6, at 7 p.m. MST at the Smith Fieldhouse. The match will be televised live on BYUtv as well as streamed on BYUtv.org and the BYUtv App.

PROVO, Utah – No. 2 BYU men’s volleyball will play No. 3 UC Santa Barbara in the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m. MST and Saturday, Feb. 1, at 6 p.m. MST.

BYU Game Notes

It will be a battle between two undefeated teams as the Cougars (8-0) host the Gauchos (6-0) this upcoming weekend. Both matches will be televised on BYUtv as well as streamed on the BYUtv App and byutv.org.

The former conference foes have played 66 times with BYU leading the series 42-24. While UCSB has historically struggled in Provo with a record of 7-25, the Gauchos have won five of the last six matches played against the Cougars in the Smith Fieldhouse.

Winning the first eight matches of the season, BYU is off to its best start since going 12-0 to open the 2008 season. The Cougars have played one of the toughest schedules in the country, facing six ranked opponents and playing six of their eight matches on the road. They will have plenty of opportunities to compete in front of the home crowd going forward as seven of their next eight matches will be in Provo.

BYU remained at No. 2 in this week’s AVCA Coaches Poll and received two first-place votes after beating No. 5 UC Irvine twice last week. UCSB defeated No. 8 Stanford last Saturday to stay at No. 3.

The Cougars swept MPSF weekly honors for the second time this year. Opposite hitter Gabi Garcia Fernandez received the MPSF Offensive Player of the Week award and the conference named Wil Stanley the MPSF Defensive Player of the Week. BYU has now collected five of the eight total MPSF weekly honors so far this year.

Garcia Fernandez continues to lead the NCAA with an average of 1.00 aces per set. The junior also ranks second in points per set (5.86) and fifth in kills per set (4.39). Stanley is averaging 11.56 assists per set to rank second in the nation while outside hitter Davide Gardini is fourth in the country in both kills per set (4.50) and points per set (5.30).

As a team, the Cougars are currently second in the NCAA in both kills per set (13.64) and assists per set (12.75). They also rank third in hitting percentage (.360) and fourth in blocks per set (2.89).