Fa'agata-Tufuga helps No. 5 Cougars in sweep over Barton

PROVO, Utah – Sophomore outside hitter Storm Fa’agata-Tufuga helped No. 5 BYU men's volleyball sweep (25-12, 25-15, 25-17) Barton Friday night at the Smith Fieldhouse.

“I liked our mentality coming into the match,” BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “Sometimes in these matches you can hold back, but we were aggressive at the service line. We've got to work on some things defensively, and we still need to get better with our passing.”

Fa’agata-Tufuga led the Cougars with 12 kills on a career-high .529 clip, followed by Gabi Garcia Fernandez with seven kills on a .500 hitting percentage. Fa’agata-Tufuga and Fernandez both added three aces each to the team's 10 total. Leo Durkin recorded 31 assists to go with a match-high seven digs and Price Jarman recorded a new season-high of eight blocks.

While Barton (0-4) had the first point, BYU (4-1) quickly took control of the first set. A 6-1 run put the Cougars up early, 7-3. A kill by Fernandez extended the BYU lead to double-digits, 20-10, and a block by Miki Jauhiainen and Fernandez ended the first set 25-15.

To start the second set, the Cougars went on 6-1 run - setting the tone for the rest of the set. A kill from Jarman gave BYU more momentum and as it went on a 4-1 rally, making it 10-3. A Barton kill then brought the Bulldogs within five points, 10-5. However, a Barton service error gave the momentum back to the Cougars. BYU won the second set with a block from Christian Rupert and Fa’agata-Tufuga, 25-15.

A kill from Fa’agata-Tufuga started out the third set, but Barton quickly battled back. A block by Barton tied the score 6-6, and a Bulldog service ace gave them the led at 7-6. A service error by Barton and a kill from Fa’agata-Tufuga put the Cougars back in the lead, though, 8-7. Another kill from Fa'agata-Tufuga ultimately put the Cougars ahead 9-8 before taking the set 25-17.

The Cougars return to the Smith Fieldhouse Saturday, Jan. 20, at 8 p.m. MST, to face Barton a second time. The match will be broadcast live on TheW.tv with live stats available on the schedule page.