LOS ANGELES — No. 8 BYU men’s volleyball fell 3-0 (20-25, 21-25, 18-25) against No. 2 UCLA in its conference opener at Pauley Pavilion Friday evening.

Tonight’s game marked BYU’s third loss of the season, with all losses against top-10 teams. UCLA (12-1) controlled the match with a .431 hitting percentage, holding BYU (8-3) to just a .226 hitting percentage, its second-lowest of the season. The Cougars were led by Kupono Browne who finished with nine kills and five digs.

Set One

Middle blocker Gavin Julien launched the game with back-to-back kills, to put BYU up 2-0. Neither team had a lead higher than two until the Cougars took off at 10-7, courtesy of a solo block by Julien, forcing a UCLA timeout. BYU then followed up with a 2-0 run, going up 12-7, its largest lead of the night, and forcing a second UCLA timeout. BYU kept hold of its lead, but took a breather when up by two at 16-14. 

The Bruins would play catch up at 16-16 after a kill by Ethan Chaplin. He would go on to lead all players with 11 kills in the match. UCLA gained control of the set at 18-17 from back-to-back aces by Guy Genius. The Cougars couldn’t seize back any momentum and fell 20-25 in the first set. 

UCLA hit a forceful .500, while BYU maintained a .389 hitting percentage. In his season debut as starting setter, sophomore Noa Haine totaled nine assists in the first frame. 

Set Two

The second set transpired in a like manner as the first, with BYU maintaining a steady lead in the beginning. BYU scored three points off of UCLA service errors, up 3-2 early in set two. UCLA would go on to have 19 service errors. BYU did not get its first kill of set two until Browne put the Cougars up 5-4. The Cougars forced a timeout at 9-5 after blocks by Julien and Moser. Browne earned his sixth kill, pushing BYU up 11-6. Then Teon Taylor notched his first kill of the night, upping BYU’s lead to 16-12.

UCLA inched its way to a tie at 19-19. The Cougars took a timeout when the score reached 22-20, down two. UCLA’s Alex Knight got a kill for the Bruins to go up 23-20. With a UCLA set point, Ramanis got a kill to keep BYU alive. But a Haine service error closed the set at 25-22.

The Bruins totaled 16 kills in set two, holding BYU to 10.

Set Three

The Cougars weren’t able to capture a lead at any point during set three. Haine got BYU’s first ace of the night, tying the set at 4-4. The energy in set three sparked for the Bruins when they went on a 3-0 run, up 12-9. Service errors and attack errors were a detrimental factor for the Cougars, with UCLA taking advantage off of each blunder. A BYU service error signaled a 25-18 win in set three for UCLA, finalizing the sweep for UCLA. 

The Cougars will face the Bruins once more tomorrow evening at 5 p.m. PST in the John Wooden Center, with live coverage on pac-12.com.

PROVO, Utah — BYU men's volleyball (8-2) extended its undefeated home streak to 6-0 with a pair of wins over No. 14 UC Santa Barbara last weekend, and now look to face No. 2 UCLA in California this week on Friday and Saturday.

Most recently, the Cougars hosted the Bruins in the Smith Fieldhouse in 2022, suffering a reverse sweep (28-26, 25-20, 23-25, 22-25, 9-15) on Senior Night. UCLA (11-1) is ranked second in the MPSF while BYU sits right below in third place. 

UCLA's freshman setter Andrew Rowan was recently selected as the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Men's Collegiate Volleyball Player of the Week. Rowan led UCLA to a pair of wins over the No. 2-ranked Long Beach State last week. The Bruins also swept this week's MPSF weekly honors, with Rowan earning Defensive Player of the Week and senior outside hitter Alex Knight earning Offensive Player of the Week.

The Cougars moved up to No. 8 in this week’s AVCA coaches poll. This is BYU's fifth week in a row on the rankings, with the No. 8 spot being its highest rank since January 17, 2022. Last season, the Cougars highest ranking was eight. 

BYU’s senior libero Mitchel Worthington is just nine digs away from earning 500 career digs, and is currently seventh on the all-time dig list for the Cougars.

Series Information

• Series Record: Tied at 36-36
• Last Meeting: BYU lost 3-2 (28-26, 25-20, 23-25, 22-25, 9-15)
• Home: 24-12
• Away: 11-23
• Neutral: 1-1

Broadcast Information

• Friday: 7 p.m. PST
• Streaming: Pac-12 Live
• Saturday: 5 p.m. PST
• Streaming: UCLA Live Stream-2