Ranked Foes Defeat Cougars at E-Bar Invite

SANTA BARBARA -- The No. 9 BYU men’s volleyball team suffered back-to-back losses to No. 8 Stanford and No. 6 UC Irvine on Friday, the opening day of the 45th Annual UC Santa Barbara/Elephant Bar Collegiate.

In the Cougars’ morning match, and season opener, the team suffered a 30-25, 30-24, 30-18 sweep at the hands of the Cardinal.

With the loss BYU moved into the second round, facing UC Irvine, a team the Cougars defeated in four games at the BYU Tournament in December. This time around the Anteaters pulled ahead to win a close 30-27 fourth set to clinch the 30-28, 32-30, 29-31, 30-27 match victory.

The Cougars will prepare to play University of the Pacific at 11 a.m. PT on Saturday.

For more information on tickets, parking, match schedules, and participating teams, please visit the tournament Web site HERE.