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PROVO -- Junior Robb Stowell led all players with 20 kills and five digs as the No. 3 BYU men’s volleyball team improved to 3-0 at home after defeating No. 5 UCLA 3-1 (25-17, 14-25, 25-23, 25-21) Friday in the Smith Fieldhouse.

With an 18-17 lead, Stowell scored four of the Cougars’ next eight points and Junior Otavio Souza posted two key blocks to give BYU its 25-21 victory in the decisive game four.

“Our team has done a really nice job of competing hard in every match, but there’s something special with UCLA,” said BYU interim head coach Rob Nielson. “They’re big, they’re athletic and we feel good about playing hard against those guys.”

Freshman Taylor Sander led the Cougars in game one, recording a service ace, one kill and two blocks to give BYU an early 7-1 advantage. The Cougars recorded 3.5 team blocks during that stretch.

The Cougars (8-2, 5-2) would go on to hit at a .450 clip, while hold the Bruins to a .172 hitting percentage to win the first set 25-17.

After a back-and-forth start to game two, the Bruins pulled away behind five service aces and captured a 25-14 victory to even the match at one game apiece. Stowell led BYU’s attack in game two, recording four kills.

Stowell led a strong comeback in game three, recording two early kills to give BYU the 5-2 lead. Stowell finished the set with five kills and the Cougars held off a late-game charge from the Bruins to capture a 25-23 victory and a 2-1 game advantage. Senior Alex DaPron posted four digs and junior libero BJ Haipo added three for the BYU defense in game three.

After falling behind 6-1 in set four, the Cougars rallied to pull within one at 14-15 and take a 17-16 lead after an Otavio Souza solo block brought the Fieldhouse faithful to their feet. The Cougars would rally with an 8-5 run to capture their eighth victory of the season.

The Cougars recorded a .295 attacking percentage compared to UCLA's .260 while also adding four service aces, 33 digs and two solo blocks from both Souza and Futi Tavana.

The two teams face off again Saturday in the Smith Fieldhouse at 7 p.m.

The third-ranked BYU men's volleyball team will play at home again this weekend when they host No. 5 UCLA on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 4 and 5, at 7 p.m.

With almost-identical season records, the Bruins are traveling with a 7-3 record as they enter the house of the 7-2 Cougars. BYU holds a 4-2 MPSF conference record and UCLA stands with a 2-2 record in league play.

BYU heads into the weekend on a four-match winning streak with three back-to-back sweeps over UC Irvine twice and one against Pacific. The Cougars have two players who have recorded over 100 kills already this season in freshman Taylor Sander and junior Robb Stowell with 114 and 109, respectively.

Weston Dunlap leads the Bruins with 87 kills on the season.

A .320 team hitting percentage for BYU edges the Bruins, just barely, who are recording a .289 attacking percentage on the season.

BYU leads the overall series 29-18 after winning two-of-the-three meetings last season.

Both matches will be broadcast live on BYUtv and available online at byutv.org/live. Gametracker is also available through the BYU men's volleyball schedule page.

Also at the match...

Joining the team this weekend is the 2001 BYU men's volleyball National Champions. The team will be introduced, and welcomed, at Saturday's match in the Smith Fieldhouse after being honored at the men's basketball game at 2 p.m. in the Marriott Center.