No. 10 BYU resumes MPSF play on the road

PROVO, Utah — No. 10 BYU men’s volleyball resumes MPSF play on the road this week against Concordia Irvine on Thursday and No. 8 USC on Saturday.

Week 12 Notes

No. 10 BYU (12-8, 6-3 MPSF)

• The Cougars are coming off of a seven-match home stand, four of which they won, including a five-set thriller over Princeton last Thursday as part of the BYU Invite.

• BYU recorded 14 blocks as a team against Princeton last week, marking the fourth time this season the team has recorded 12-or-more blocks. The Cougars are undefeated when totaling 12-or-more blocks and currently lead the MPSF in blocks per set with a 2.54 average, good for fifth in the nation.

• Gabi Garcia Fernandez extended his double-digit kill streak to 15 matches with 12 against Hawai’i, and came through clutch for the Cougars against Princeton two days before that, with seven of his 22 total kills coming in the decisive fifth set. He also matched his career high with five aces against No. 2 Hawai’i on Saturday to move into seventh place on the all-time list at BYU for career service aces.

• Felipe de Brito Ferreira followed up his career-high 13 blocks last week against Pepperdine with 10 against Princeton on Thursday.

• Freshman outside hitter Alex Ah Sue made his first start as a Cougar against McKendree last week and tied Garcia Fernandez for the most kills made by a freshman in his first start with 23 in four sets. His career night came on a .364 hitting percentage, while also adding six digs on the defensive end for a new career high.

Concordia Irvine (12-15, 1-7 MPSF)

• The Eagles were swept by Grand Canyon in their lone MPSF matchup last week, before picking up two wins over Ottawa Arizona and Benedictine Mesa on Saturday. They play No. 1 Hawai'i at home on Tuesday before welcoming the Cougars to CU Arena.

• BYU leads the all-time series 3-1 over CUI, with the lone loss coming last season in a five-set stunner in Provo.

• The Eagles rank third in the MPSF in blocks, service aces and digs. CUI libero Addison Enriques leads in the conference in digs individually with 2.10 per set.

• The Eagles lead the Cougars in kills per set and assists per set with 11.8-11.5 and 11.1-10.9 advantages, respectively, but BYU holds the lead in blocks per set, 2.6-2.0.

No. 8 USC (13-8, 4-4 MPSF)

• The Trojans played just one match last week, handing No. 1, undefeated Long Beach State its first loss of the season in a sweep.

• The Cougars beat the Trojans in a five-set match in Provo on Feb. 16 to extend their win streak to seven in the all-time series, which BYU leads 41-13.

• USC ranks fourth in the MPSF in hitting percentage, assists, kills and digs. Outside hitter Ryan Moss ranks second in the conference behind Garcia Fernandez in kills per set with 3.83, while setter Chris Hall comes in third in assists per set with a 9.92 average.

• The Trojans best the Cougars in the offensive categories with 12.8-11.5 and .321-.301 leads in kills per set and hitting percentage, respectively, while BYU holds the lead on defense once again with 2.6 blocks per set to 1.9 for USC.

Both matches begin at 7 p.m. PDT. Information on live streaming and stats can be found on the schedule page.