HONOLULU – No. 4 BYU men’s volleyball beat No. 8 Lewis in four sets (25-15, 18-25, 25-23, 26-24) behind balanced play Friday night at the Stan Sheriff Center in the second match of the Outrigger Resorts Invitational.

“I thought the guys rebounded well after losing that second set,” BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “We knew Lewis was a much better team than we saw in the first. I'm proud of the team effort tonight.”

Brenden Sander led the Cougars with 14 kills and three aces while Gabi Garcia Fernandez added 10 kills and seven digs. Leo Durkin chipped in 35 assists and Zach Hendrickson added eight digs. Felipe de Brito Ferreira had six blocks and seven kills in the win.

Back-to-back blocks from Ferreira and Fernandez helped BYU (16-4, 7-0 MPSF) take a 3-1 lead in the first set against Lewis (13-7, 5-2 MIVA). The Cougars then went on a 7-1 lead to go up 13-6, forcing a timeout from the Flyers along the way. Lewis then countered with a 4-1 rally to get within four, down 14-10. A Sander kill extended BYU’s advantage back to seven at 19-12. The Cougars ended the set on a 4-0 run, which included two aces from Sander, to take the set 25-15.

A Durkin kill evened the second set score at 4-4, but the Flyers quickly went up 17-8 after an 11-2 rally. Consecutive aces from Wil Stanley brought BYU back within six, trailing 20-14, but Lewis cruised through to the end of the set, winning it 25-18.  

The Flyers took a 3-1 lead at the start of the third set. A Sander kill and ace tied the set at 4-4, and back-to-back Sander kills pushed the Cougars ahead 10-8. A Fernandez kill then extended the lead to five at 16-11. With BYU ahead 18-14, Lewis scored the next three-straight points to get back within a point at 18-17. The Cougars then increased their lead back to three at 22-19 before eventually taking the close set 25-23 after a Flyer service error.

A pair of Durkin and Ferreira blocks gave BYU a 6-2 lead in the fourth set. Lewis followed with a 7-2 rally to take a 9-8 edge. The set remained close as a pair of errors from the Flyers pushed the Cougars back in front 15-13. A Ferreira kill kept BYU ahead at 20-18, forcing a Lewis timeout. A Stanley kill made it 23-20, but the Flyers scored the next three points to make it 23 apiece. The Cougars then took another close set 26-24 after a final Sander kill.

BYU returns to the Stan Sheriff Center Saturday, Mar. 10, at 7 p.m. HST, concluding play in the Outrigger Resorts Invitational against host No. 2 Hawai’i. The match will be televised live by Spectrum Sports. Links to a video stream, audio stream and live stats can be found on the BYU men’s volleyball schedule page.

PROVO, Utah – No. 4 BYU men’s volleyball travels to Honolulu, Hawai’i, this week for a trio of matches against No. 11 Penn State, No. 8 Lewis and No. 2 Hawai’i.

Last week, the Cougars (14-4, 7-0 MPSF) won a five-set come-from-behind thriller against No. 8 Pepperdine before sweeping No. 3 UCLA to stay at the top of the conference standings.

No. 11 Penn State

• BYU faces Penn State (10-4, 5-2 EIVA) Thursday, Mar. 8, at 4 p.m. HST, at the Stan Sheriff Center.
• The Cougars lead the overall series history with the Nittany Lions 11-6.
• BYU has won the past six-straight meetings but is just 3-2 when facing Penn State on a neutral court.
• The Nittany Lions are just 3-2 in their last five matches, most recently sweeping NJIT before falling in five to Princeton.

No. 8 Lewis

• The Cougars compete against the Flyers (13-5, 5-2 MIVA) Friday, Mar. 9, at 4 p.m. HST, at the Stan Sheriff Center.
• BYU holds a 16-3 advantage in the series history with Lewis.
• The Cougars have won three-straight against the Flyers, including picking up a four-set win in Provo earlier this season.
• Lewis has won five of its last six matches, falling only on the road at Loyola-Chicago.

No. 2 Hawai’i

• BYU finishes out the week playing Hawai’i (11-2, 1-1 Big West) Saturday, Mar. 10, beginning at 7 p.m. HST, at the Stan Sheriff Center.
• The Cougars are 40-19 all-time against the Warriors.
• BYU had won six-consecutive matchups until being swept by Hawai’i in the semifinals of last season’s MPSF Tournament.
• The Warriors’ two loses this year come from series splits with UCLA and UC Irvine.

Saturday’s match against Hawai’i will be televised live by Spectrum Sports. Live stats will also be available for all three matches. Links can be found on the BYU men’s volleyball schedule page.