PROVO, Utah – In a rematch of yesterday’s battle, No. 3 BYU men’s volleyball fell in three sets to No. 1 Long Beach State (25-21, 25-22, 25-21) on senior night at the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday.

“I felt like anytime we had a little lead, Long Beach State responded really well and stayed in it," BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. "Hats off to them for doing that. We had chances to get going and make a run but didn't take advantage of it."

In the fight for first place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, BYU (21-3, 14-2 MPSF) in now in second place behind Long Beach State (22-3, 15-2 MPSF) after this sweep. The Cougars were out-hit .477 to .303 in the match.

On senior night, senior Jake Langlois led the team in kills with 10, along with five digs. Price Jarman hit a .833 clip, hitting 5 for 6. Leo Durkin tallied 30 assists and led the team in digs with six.

The first set was back and forth, neither team gaining a big lead. Jarman scored three of BYU’s first five points, two from kills and one ace, to put the Cougars up 5-4. Following multiple ties and one-point leads for Long Beach State, BYU got back on top after Langlois found the corner down the line, making it 11-10. The 49ers were able to break away, going on a 4-0 run to go up by five, 21-16. However, the Cougars fought back, putting together three straight, two of which were kills from Tim Dobbert, to get within two, 23-21. The comeback fell short as Long Beach State took the first set, 25-21.

Brenden Sander got going in the second set. He notched four kills in the first eight BYU points, including a kill to put the Cougars up 8-7. Despite multiple service errors from the 49ers, the visiting squad led 15-13 at the media timeout. BYU trailed by three until Langlois drilled two-straight kills to get within one, 21-20. Long Beach State held on to the late barrage, winning the second set, 25-22.

After the 49ers jumped out to an early 6-3 lead in the third set, the Cougars got going. They went on an 8-1 run behind a pair of kills from Langlois and Sander. A kill from Ben Patch powered through the block to cap off the run, putting BYU up 11-7. Long Beach State got back in it, scoring four straight to take the 14-13 lead. Back-to-back kills from Patch tied the game at 15-15, but the 49ers started to pull away. At match point, Long Beach State missed the serve to keep the game going, but BYU returned the favor, a service error giving the 49ers the third set and final set, 25-21.

The Cougars are off next week and will return to action on April 6 and 7 at UC Santa Barbara.

PROVO, Utah – No. 3 BYU men’s volleyball hosts Princeton on Tuesday before facing off against No. 1 Long Beach State for a pair Friday and Saturday night.

The Tigers (9-8, 6-3 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) are the last nonconference opponent on the Cougars’ (19-2, 13-1 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) schedule. The two-match series against the 49ers (21-2, 14-1 MPSF) will be the final regular-season home matches of the season. Additionally, Saturday’s match will also be senior night. The seniors will be honored prior to the start of the match.

Princeton

• BYU will compete against Princeton Tuesday, March 21, at 7 p.m. MDT.
• The Cougars lead the overall series history 1-0, having picked up the sweep on the road last year in the first all-time meeting.
• The Tigers split their two matches last week, falling in three at NJIT before collecting a sweep at home against Coker.
• Princeton is currently tied with NJIT for third place in its league, just behind Penn State and Sacred Heart.
   

No. 1 Long Beach State

• BYU faces Long Beach State Friday, March 24, at 7 p.m. MDT and Saturday, March 25, at 8 p.m. MDT.
• The Cougars lead the series history 31-22 all-time and are 17-7 when playing the 49ers at home.
• BYU won the last matchup in the 2016 NCAA Tournament in four sets, but split the regular-season series on the road.
• Long Beach State is on a 14-match win streak, compared to the Cougars’ 13-match streak. The 49ers last lost on the road to the defending national champions Ohio State.

All three matches this week will be televised live on BYUtv and simulcast on BYU Radio – Sirius XM 143. Links to video/audio streams and live stats can be found on the BYU men’s volleyball schedule page.