PROVO, Utah — After a hard-fought victory over Pepperdine the night before, BYU men’s volleyball fell to MPSF opponent No. 7 Pepperdine in a sweep (22-25, 21-25, 19-25) in the Firestone Fieldhouse on Saturday.

The Cougars now hold an overall season record of 8-12 are and 3-5 in the MPSF. 

Pepperdine dominated offensively, racking up 47 kills and a .432 hitting percentage. BYU put up 37 kills and a .325 clip. The Cougars had nine service errors and only tallied eight digs, compared to Pepperdine’s 25 digs. 

Pepperdine’s Jaylen Jasper led with 15 kills and a .571 hitting percentage. BYU senior outside hitter Davide Gardini put up 12 kills and a .269 clip.

SET ONE
The Waves started strong with a 5-0 run including three kills by Pepperdine’s Jacob Steele. Gardini stopped the run with BYU’s first kill of the night. The Waves had two errors to help the Cougars catch up, but tallied three kills to keep their lead at 8-4.

A 5-0 run by BYU, featuring a kill and an ace by freshman outside hitter Miks Ramanis, shifted the momentum and gave the Cougars their first lead of the set. The teams eventually worked to a tie score at 15-15. A Pepperdine ace and a BYU attack error eventually gave the Waves the edge. 

This started the Waves on a 5-0 run to extend their lead to 20-15. Gardini and sophomore outside hitter Kupono Browne slammed kills to catch up, but Pepperdine matched their efforts. Two Pepperdine kills paired with two BYU errors allowed the Waves to take their first set-win at 25-22.

SET TWO
The Cougars got on the board with an attack error from the Waves. Pepperdine’s Steele notched a kill and started a run that featured four ties, but the Waves held a slight lead of 9-8.

The teams traded attack errors and kills, tying another three times by 12-12. Pepperdine broke away with a 3-0 run. Kills by Browne and Gardini and a BYU ace tied the set yet again at 18-18. Four BYU attack errors and two kills by Pepperdine’s Austin Wilmot allowed the Waves to secure their second set-win at 25-21.

SET THREE
Pepperdine’s Steele quickly tallied two kills to start the third set. The Cougars followed with a 3-0 run thanks to two attack errors by the Waves. The teams traded kills, including points by Gardini and freshman outside hitter Luke Benson. Benson’s addition allowed BYU to take the lead at 5-4.

From there, the score remained tight as the teams tied seven times by 13-13. The Waves took back their lead with a 5-1 run, including three BYU errors. An ace by senior opposite hitter Alex Ah Sue and kills by Benson and Gardini kept the Cougars close behind. 

In the end, Pepperdine’s Jasper smashed his 14th and 15th kills of the night to give the Waves their third and final set-win at 25-19.

Up next, BYU will face Stanford for a two matches in the Maples Pavilion, starting on Friday, April 8 at 7 p.m. PST.

PROVO, Utah — BYU men’s volleyball hits the road to face Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opponent No. 7 Pepperdine in the Firestone Fieldhouse this Friday and Saturday.

The history between the Cougars and the Waves dates back to 1990. Currently, BYU leads the all-time series with a tight 35-34 record and is on a three-match winning streak against Pepperdine.

Brigham Young University Cougars (7-11, 2-4 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation)

• BYU ended its nine-match losing streak after two wins (3-0, 3-1) against Concordia University Irvine in the Smith Fieldhouse two weeks ago, in the Cougars' most recent action. They had last weekend off.
• Off the Block named BYU sophomore setter Bartosz Slawinksi as National Setter of the Week after his performance against Concordia Irvine. He put up a total of 82 assists over the two-match seres and contributed to the Cougars boasting a .569 hitting percentage on Friday, which was the team's top clip of the season.
• Nationally, BYU ranks No. 16 in assists per set (11.38), No. 17 in hitting percentage (.288), No. 18 in kills per set (12.01) and No. 21 in blocks per set (1.986).
• Senior outside hitter Davide Gardini ranks No. 10 in the NCAA in kills per set (3.88), No. 11 in points per set (4.44) and No. 17 in attacks per set (8.00).
• Out of BYU’s 18 matches this season, head coach Shawn Olmstead has had 12 different starting lineups, as the Cougars rebuild after losing five starters from last season.
• The Cougars finished the 2021 season with a 20-4 record, its eighth MPSF conference championship title, a trip to the NCAA national championship game and a No. 2 national ranking.

No. 7 Pepperdine University Waves (11-6, 2-2 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation)

• Last week, the Waves faced CSUN twice, notching sweeps in both matches. 
• Alex Gettinger and Spencer Wickens became the fifth and sixth different members of the Pepperdine men's volleyball team to earn weekly honors from the MPSF this season, as they collected the league's Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week awards, respectively, on Monday. 
• Pepperdine ranks No. 3 in the NCAA in assists per set (12.32), No. 4 in kills per set (12.89), No. 6 in hitting percentage (.341), No. 6 in blocks per set (2.532), No. 9 in aces per set (1.56) and No. 13 in match winning percentage (.647).
• Sophomore setter Bryce Dvorak ranks No. 4 in the NCAA in assists per set (10.52) and No. 11 in aces per set (.516).

BROADCAST INFORMATION – March 25

• Time: 6 p.m. PST
• Live Stream: WCC Sports
• Live Stats: Statbroadcast

BROADCAST INFORMATION – March 26

• Time: 6 p.m. PST
• Live Stream: WCC Sports
• Live Stats: Statbroadcast