Langlois and No. 3 Cougars rally past No. 8 Cardinal in four

STANFORD, Calif. – A double-double from senior outside hitter Jake Langlois helped No. 3 BYU men’s volleyball rally past No. 8 Stanford in four sets (25-19, 23-25, 25-23, 26-24) Friday night at the Burnham Pavilion & Ford Center to complete the road series sweep.

"I'm proud of the way the guys played tonight," BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. "We knew Stanford wasn't about to throw in the towel after that first set. They're a really good, disciplined team. We had a great couple of wins this week that helped us get better as a team."

Langlois led the Cougars with 14 kills and 12 digs for a double-double while adding a team-high eight blocks. Erik Sikes collected a career-high 15 digs and Leo Durkin contributed 45 assists. Price Jarman had a career-high 10 kills while adding a season-high eight blocks and Tim Dobbert and Joseph Grosh each added seven blocks in the win.

BYU (14-2, 8-1 MPSF) took a 5-2 lead against Stanford (9-7, 6-5 MPSF) early in the first set with help from two Grosh kills. The teams traded every other point from there until a trio of Cougar points, capped off by a Kiril Meretev kill, extended the BYU advantage to five, 12-7. The Cardinal rallied after a timeout, going on a 7-2 run to knot the set up at 14-all. Back-to-back Grosh and Langlois blocks pushed the Cougars back ahead 18-15, and consecutive Wil Stanley aces brought the lead back to five at 21-16. A Stanford service error then sealed the 25-19 set one win for BYU.   

The Cardinal jumped out to an 8-2 lead to start the second set after strong offensive play. The Cougars eventually rallied with an 8-2 run of their own to cut the lead to one, down 13-12, forcing a Stanford timeout along the way. A 5-0 spurt, helped by two Jarman kills, gave BYU its first lead of the set at 18-16. That run was quickly countered with a 6-2 one from the Cardinal, as Stanford took a 22-20 edge. The Cardinal ultimately took the close set 25-23 on a Cougar service error.

A pair of kills each from Langlois, Grosh and Storm Fa’agata-Tufuga helped BYU take a 10-2 lead at the beginning of the third set. Stanford went on a 4-1 run to cut the advantage to five, 13-8, but a Dobbert kill followed to keep the Cougars ahead. Dobbert and Jarman teamed up for a block as BYU maintained its lead 20-14. The Cardinal stayed in the set, then going on a 4-0 run to cut the lead to just two, 20-18. A Langlois kill closed things out with the Cougars at set point, giving BYU a 25-23 set win and a 2-1 lead in the match.

Langlois started the fourth set off with a service ace to give the Cougars the early edge. A block and kill from Fa’agata-Tufuga helped BYU on a 4-0 rally to stay ahead 7-3. Stanford followed with a 5-0 run of its own to take an 8-7 advantage. The set remained neck-and-neck from there as Brenden Sander subbed into the set and collected a kill to tie the score at 11-all. Another Langlois kill tied the set at 19 apiece, and back-to-back Sander kills gave the Cougars a 23-21 edge. The Cardinal picked up an ace on BYU’s first set point, but the Cougars scored the next two points on a Langlois kill and a Jarman and Durkin block to win the set and match 26-24.

The Cougars return home to the Smith Fieldhouse next, facing Cal Baptist Friday, March 3, at 7 p.m. MST. The match will be streamed live on TheW.tv. Links to the video stream and live stats can be found on the BYU men’s volleyball schedule page.