Sander Leads To Tourney Championship

SANTA BARBARA -- The No. 5 BYU men's volleyball team defeated UC Santa Barbara, 3-1 (15-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-19) to win the 2011 Gaucho Invitational.

Freshman Taylor Sander was named the Tournament MVP with teammates Futi Tavana and Joe Kauliakamoa joining him on the All-Tournament Team.

"I’m proud of our guys and excited for the success we've had so far," said BYU interim head coach Rob Neilson. "We’re getting ready now to improve on the things we need to improve on and I’m very excited for the rest of the season."

Sander led the squad and all players with 16 kills. Steve Rindfleisch contributed 12 kills and a team-high six digs.

The Cougars got the first point in set one but UCSB took the lead from there and won the first. In set two, BYU got six straight points before securing the win and kept the momentum through sets three and four.

BYU continued the point streaks in sets three and four, compiling four different 4-0 runs on its way to victory.

Up next for the Cougars is a match against the defending national champion and No. 4 Stanford Cardinal on Jan. 14 and 15 at 7:30 p.m. PT in Palo Alto, California.