BYU Hosts MPSF Quarterfinal Match Saturday

The No. 2 BYU men’s volleyball team (21-8, 15-7 MPSF) hosts No. 7 UCLA (16-13, 11-11 MPSF) for the quarterfinals of the MPSF tournament Saturday at the Smith Fieldhouse. The match will begin at 7 p.m. MT.

BYU finished its schedule with a 1-1 split vs. CS Northridge and earning the No. 2 seed on sets over the Matadors, 5-3 in the series. BYU had the best team block (3.78 B/S) and overall defense during the season, holding opponents to .250 hitting. Futi Tavana (1.78 B/S) and Russell Lavaja (1.55 B/S) were the top blockers in the MPSF.

UCLA is ranked seventh in the MPSF as well as tied for No. 7 in the AVCA poll after defeating No. 1 Stanford 3-2 and falling to Pacific 0-3 at home last weekend.

Series Info

Although the Bruins lead the all-time series against the Cougars at 28-18, BYU is 13-8 against UCLA since the beginning of the 2001 National Championship season. A weekend sweep for either team has been hard to come by in Los Angeles, with each series ending in a split dating back 2002. Twenty-five of the 46 total meetings between BYU and UCLA have resulted in sweeps, while 12 have gone to four sets and only nine have reached the five-set mark. This season the Cougars took two of the last three against the Bruins in January.

Match Coverage

The match will be broadcast live on BYUtv. Fans may watch a live stream at www.byu.tv.

Live stats are available at the BYU men’s volleyball schedule page at www.byucougars.com. Gametracker can be launched by clicking on the “Live Stats” link for the appropriate game on the schedule.

Coming Off...

In a matchup of two of the MPSF’s best teams, the No. 2 BYU men’s volleyball team split with No. 3 Cal State Northridge Friday and Saturday 3-0, 2-3. In the three-set win on Friday, Andrew Stewart recorded a career-high 13 blocking assists, a team-high on the season in three games, in the victory over the Matadors. Setter Reed Chilton’s 46 assists was also a team-high on the season in three games. Stewart led the team with 12 kills on the night, followed closely by Futi Tavana with 10 of his own. On Saturday in an exhilarating five-set match on Senior Night seniors Chilton and Stewart led the team in assists and kills, respectively. Chilton finished with 42 assists and Stewart with 18 kills. Fellow senior Joel Silva finished with double-digit digs for the eighth time this season with 14. The performance marks his 37th career double-digit dig game.