LOS ANGELES – Brenden Sander led No. 3 BYU men's volleyball to a four-set (20-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-23) win at No. 1 UCLA to complete the series sweep Saturday night at the John Wooden Center.

"The boys dug deep tonight and did some wonderful things as a collective team," BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. "Our serving was great and Brenden played big time. It was a great BYU crowd and we can't thank BYU fans enough for showing up and supporting us in a big way."

Sander led the Cougars with 10 kills and just one hitting error for a .450 clip to go along with a pair of aces and three blocks. Erik Sikes contributed 11 digs and Leo Durkin added 30 assists. Michael Hatch collected six blocks and Price Jarman put up a season-high eight kills to go with five blocks. Jake Langlois added 11 kills, nine digs and four aces while Ben Patch added a team-high 12 kills in the win.

UCLA (21-5, 15-5 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) got off to a 4-1 lead over BYU (21-3, 17-3 MPSF) to start the first set with help from a pair of aces. Two Sander kills and a block then helped the Cougars get back within a point, down 5-4. The teams remained neck-to-neck from there until a 4-1 Bruin run propelled them to an 11-7 advantage, forcing a BYU timeout. The Cougars rallied after the break with a 5-1 run, capped off by a Sander and Hatch block, to tie the score at 12-all. BYU took its first lead of the set at 15-14 following a Patch kill, and the set remained tied at every point from there until another 5-1 UCLA rally gave it a 22-19 edge. The Bruins then ended the set 25-20 with an ace.  

A Patch kill gave the Cougars a 6-5 advantage early in the second set. Patch and Jarman then teamed up to get a block and keep BYU ahead with an 11-10 edge. The close set continued as a Sander kill helped his team keep the 15-14 advantage. The Bruins then took their first timeout of the set after another Sander kill extended the Cougars' lead to two at 18-16. Robbie Sutton then subbed into the match and collected an ace to keep BYU ahead 22-19, forcing a UCLA timeout. A Langlois kill ended the set for the Cougars 25-20.

BYU took an 8-2 lead to start the third set after a pair of Patch kills. A Durkin ace kept the Cougars up by six at 14-8 before back-to-back blocks helped bring the Bruins back within just three, down 14-11. UCLA came back within a point at 15-14 following an ace before back-to-back Langlois kills helped BYU go back up by four at 19-15. The Cougars maintained their lead from there as a Tim Dobbert ace ended the set 25-18.   

The two teams started out the fourth set evenly with a 3-3 score, but a Patch kill gave BYU an 8-6 advantage. Sander then picked up an ace to extend the Cougars' lead at 12-10, forcing a Bruin timeout. BYU then went up 17-13 on a Langlois ace and 20-16 on a UCLA service error. The Bruins fought off four set points before the Cougars took the set and match 25-23 on a Patch kill.

The win gives BYU the series sweep at UCLA for the first time in program history.

The Cougars return home to the Smith Fieldhouse next, facing USC in a two-match series beginning Saturday, April 8, at 7 p.m. MDT. The match will be broadcast live on BYUtv and simulcast on BYU Radio - Sirius XM 143. Links to live stats and a video feed can be found on the BYU men's volleyball schedule page.

PROVO, Utah – No. 3 BYU men’s volleyball stays on the road this week for a pair of crucial conference matchups against No. 1 UCLA.

Last Time Out

The Cougars (19-3, 15-3 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) swept UC San Diego on the road in the pair of conference matches to remain tied for first place in MPSF play.  Brenden Sander matched a career high in kills the first night with 16 while Ben Patch added a team-high 14 kills the following night.

No. 1 UCLA

• BYU will face off against UCLA (21-3, 15-3 MPSF) Friday, April 1, at 8 p.m. PDT. The two teams will play again Saturday, April 2, at 7 p.m. PDT.
• Last week, the Bruins picked up a five-set win at CSUN and a sweep at No. 4 Long Beach State. UCLA has won its last eight matches heading into the BYU contests.
• The Bruins hold a 31-28 advantage in the overall series history. The Cougars are just 9-20 when playing at UCLA. BYU won both matches last year in Provo against the then–No. 4 team, first a sweep followed by a four-set victory.
• BYU, UCLA and Stanford are all tied for first place in conference play, with Long Beach State now one match behind first. With just four regular-season matches left on the schedule, outcomes to both of this week’s matches will help determine seeding for the league tournament.

Match Info

Both matches will be played this week at the John Wooden Center, as opposed to the traditional Pauley Pavilion arena. Friday’s match will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Los Angeles. Saturday’s match will be streamed live by UCLA. Links to live stats and video/audio feeds can be found on the BYU men’s volleyball schedule page.