No. 3 BYU upsets No. 1 Long Beach State in five

PROVO, Utah — No. 3 BYU men's volleyball upset No. 1 Long Beach State in five sets (20-25, 26-24, 25-20, 21-25, 17-15) Friday night at the Smith Fieldhouse to overtake first place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation standings.

“I thought we got a little too carried away by every move and every fake,” BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “We reminded the guys of the game plan. Once we started doing that, we were getting good touches. I'm proud of the way we competed through all five sets.”

Price Jarman led the Cougars (21-2, 14-1 MPSF) with a .750 clip while Jake Langlois recorded a season-high 20 kills to go with 10 digs. Brenden Sander contributed 13 kills and a season-high six blocks while Tim Dobbert added 12 kills and career-highs in digs (16) and aces (3). Freshman Wil Stanley earned a career-high 36 assists as well.

The fifth and final set came down to the final few plays, as did the other sets. After building an early 5-2 lead on three-consecutive Long Beach State (21-3, 14-2 MPSF) errors, the Cougars overcame eight ties to win the match 17-15 on a Langlois kill.

Long Beach State took command in the beginning of the first set, earning an early 11-7 lead - although 49er service errors kept BYU close behind. The Cougars fought back on a 6-2 run to trail by one, 16-15, after three kills from Dobbert and an ace from Langlois. The 49ers responded forcefully to take the first set by five points, 25-20.

The teams battled back and forth to open the second set, tying six times. BYU remained within one point until Long Beach State pulled ahead, 11-7 after consecutive blocks. The Cougars capitalized on more 49er service errors and two more kills from Langlois to even the score, 17-17. BYU took its first lead of the night, 21-20, on an ace from Dobbert. Stanley buried an ace for a set point, 25-24, before a Long Beach State error sealed the win for the Cougars, 26-24.

BYU and Long Beach State remained neck-and-neck in the third set until the Cougars pulled away from a 12-12 tie. They built a six-point 18-12 advantage on a Jarman kill before the 49ers whittled the lead down to three twice, at 18-15 and 19-16. Kills from Jarman, Dobbert and Langlois propelled BYU to a 25-20 win.

In a set of 16 ties and three lead changes, the hard-fought battle continued through the fourth set. Both teams attacked impressively as Long Beach State recorded a .387 hitting percentage and BYU a .333. A Stanley kill evened the score at 6-all, and a Langlois kill put BYU ahead 15-13 in the close set. The 49ers kept their composure after a 19-19 tie before taking the set 25-21 on a Cougar attack error, sending the match to the decisive fifth set.

The Cougars and 49ers will next play again tomorrow night at 8 p.m. MDT. The match will be broadcast live on BYUtv and simulcast on BYU Radio - Sirius XM 143.