Volleyball Returns Home to Host UC San Diego

After a month away from home, the No. 9 BYU men’s volleyball team (5-6, 3-3 MPSF) returns home to the Smith Fieldhouse where it will host No. 10 UC San Diego (6-6, 2-5 MPSF) on Friday and Saturday.

The Cougars are coming off a week break after suffering two losses at No. 5 USC on Feb. 6 & 7. BYU lost 3-1 and 3-2 at the hands of the Trojans.

The Tritons of UCSD are coming off a three-game victory over No. 11 George Mason in the championship game of the 2009 Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic on Feb. 14. UCSD took the tournament crown with game scores of 30-18, 30-21, 30-15, thanks in part to tournament MVP Will Ehrman’s 14 kill, 13 dig performance.

Series Information

The Cougars boast an undefeated, 24-0 record against UCSD, dating back to 1993. Of those 24 meetings, 18 resulted in sweeps, with the Tritons claiming only five games. No matchup between these two teams has ever gone to a fifth set. Last season BYU visited UCSD in San Diego on Jan. 11 & 12, coming away with 3-1, 3-0 victories.

Match Coverage

Both matches will be televised live on BYU-TV with Jarom Jordan calling play-by-play, Steve Vail offering analysis and Kelli Ottesen as sideline reporter.

Every home match will have a free live stats feed option. The live stats feed can be accessed by visiting the men’s volleyball schedule page at www.byucougars.com. The live stats can be launched by clicking on the “Live Stats” link for the appropriate game.

Coming Off...A Five-Set Loss at USC

The No. 9 Cougars looked to be on the verge of victory in the second and third set but eventually fell 3-2 (34-32, 33-35, 29-31, 30-23, 15-10) to No. 5 USC on Feb. 7.

Despite the loss, several players recorded career and season highs on the night in kills, hitting percentage and assists. Freshman Russell Lavaja shattered his previous career record of 6 kills, contributing 13 of the Cougars’ 79. Fellow freshman Futi Tavana also improved his career-high kills to 16. Junior Mat Taylor again lead the team with 18--the fifth time he has done so this season.