BYU triumphed on their return to the Smith Fieldhouse Friday night against No. 14 UC Santa Barbara after two straight weeks of road games. In the Cougars' fifth straight contest against a nationally-ranked opponent, the school walked away with a 3-1 win for their third win in their last four games.
It's only the second time this season the Cougars have needed more than three sets to win at home.
The series has been home-dominated for the past five years, and BYU continued that trend. The Cougars' only loss on Friday came in the first game, the night ending with set scores of 22-25, 25-19, 25-23 and 25-20.
BYU entered the game ranked 10th for the school's highest placement that season. On the floor, the Cougars impressed and proved the poll right.
"We've been playing some really good volleyball on the road for the past few weeks," said BYU coach Shawn Olmstead. “I just felt like (our players) tried to do a little too much in the first set. ... We just made a few too many mistakes and tried to overdo it. So we just said to them, 'Guys, even out.' And that's all they did. We haven't done much. We just calmed down, balanced.”
Brigham Young's Trent Moser (9), Gavin Julien (10) and Kupono Browne (3) block a spike during an NCAA men's volleyball game at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday, February 10, 2023. Ryan Sun, Deseret News
1von23
Brigham Young's Kupono Browne (3) bats the ball during a NCAA men's volleyball game at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday, February 10, 2023. Ryan Sun, Deseret News
2von23
Brigham Young's Heath Hughes (7) tips the ball during a NCAA men's volleyball game at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday, February 10, 2023. Ryan Sun, Deseret News
3von23
Brigham Young's Trent Moser (9) celebrates after scoring his game-winning serve during an NCAA men's volleyball game at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday, February 10, 2023. Ryan Sun, Deseret News
4von23
Brigham Young's Heath Hughes (7) fixes the ball for teammate Teon Taylor (21) during an NCAA men's volleyball game at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday, February 10, 2023. Ryan Sun, Deseret News
5von23
Brigham Young's Mitchel Worthington (12) dives for the ball during a NCAA men's volleyball game at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday, February 10, 2023. Ryan Sun, Deseret News
6von23
Brigham Young's bench celebrates after a point during an NCAA men's volleyball game at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday, February 10, 2023. Ryan Sun, Deseret News
7von23
Brigham Young's Mike Ramanis (23) and Trent Moser (9) prepare to serve during an NCAA men's volleyball game at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday, February 10, 2023. Ryan Sun, Deseret News
8von23
Brigham Young's Luke Benson (1) and Gavin Julien (10) block a spike attempt during an NCAA men's volleyball game at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday, February 10, 2023. Ryan Sun, Deseret News
9von23
Brigham Young's Trent Moser (9) serves the ball Friday, February 10, 2023 during an NCAA men's volleyball game at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo. Ryan Sun, Deseret News
10von23
Brigham Young huddles between the points during an NCAA men's volleyball game at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday, February 10, 2023. Ryan Sun, Deseret News
11von23
Brigham Young's Mitchel Worthington (12) celebrates after a point during a NCAA men's volleyball game at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday, February 10, 2023. Ryan Sun, Deseret News
12von23
Brigham Young's Teon Taylor (21) jabs the ball during an NCAA men's volleyball game at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday, February 10, 2023. Ryan Sun, Deseret News
13von23
Brigham Young celebrates after a point during an NCAA men's volleyball game at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday, February 10, 2023. Ryan Sun, Deseret News
14von23
Brigham Young's Miks Ramanis (23) serves the ball during a NCAA men's volleyball game at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday, February 10, 2023. Ryan Sun, Deseret News
15von23
Brigham Young's Heath Hughes digs the ball during an NCAA men's volleyball game at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday, February 10, 2023. Ryan Sun, Deseret News
16von23
Brigham Young's Heath Hughes (7) digs the ball during an NCAA men's volleyball game at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday, February 10, 2023. Ryan Sun, Deseret News
17von23
Brigham Young's Mike Ramanis (23) awaits the umpire for a call during an NCAA men's volleyball game at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday, February 10, 2023. Ryan Sun, Deseret News
18von23
Brigham Young's Kupono Browne (3) celebrates after a point during a NCAA men's volleyball game at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday, February 10, 2023. Ryan Sun, Deseret News
19von23
Brigham Young's Heath Hughes (7) tips the ball during a NCAA men's volleyball game at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday, February 10, 2023. Ryan Sun, Deseret News
20von23
Brigham Young's Mike Ramanis (23) digs the ball during an NCAA men's volleyball game at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday, February 10, 2023. Ryan Sun, Deseret News
21von23
Brigham Young's Heath Hughes (7) fixes the ball during an NCAA men's volleyball game at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday, February 10, 2023. Ryan Sun, Deseret News
22von23
Brigham Young's Trent Moser (9) is brought forward during an NCAA men's volleyball game at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday, February 10, 2023. Ryan Sun, Deseret News
23von23
BYU's only lead of the first set came after the first point. From there, UC Santa Barbara took the lead and held a slim advantage for most of the game. The Gauchos took a late lead (23-17) but almost lost it when the Cougars scored four straight points to move to two. UC Santa Barbara ended matters moments later, giving the Cougars only their second home loss this season.
"You go down 1-0 against a team like Santa Barbara, it's not a good place," Olmstead said. "So I was pretty impressed that the guys went down... against a team like that and just stayed the course."
BYU stayed the course and recouped the loss in the next set without falling behind en route to a six-point win. The Cougars put on a dominant performance, leading by as much as nine. Winger Anthony Cherfan's six kills as a sophomore led BYU and made the difference in his team's win.
Cherfan's energy off the bench changed the game. "The key to all of this is just being ready... being consistent, bringing the competitive spirit to every single rally, every single game," said Cherfan. "I came in and put that confidence and that confidence back in us and that's how we were able to do that match."
The third set was up for grabs, with eight lead changes before BYU began to pull away towards the end. A 5-1 run gave the Cougars a three-point lead. However, UC Santa Barbara went it alone to tie things up at 23. Two Cherfan kills later, BYU held a 2-1 set lead.
In the final set, the Cougars stayed a step ahead of the Gauchos; Their biggest lead is five points. BYU had the fewest kills in the last game with just nine kills, but got help from UC Santa Barbara after the Gauchos had eight serves. Freshman outside hitter Trent Moser ended the match for his team from the service line with an ace, the fifth of the night for the Cougars.
Moser and Cherfan each ended the night with a team high of 14 kills. Senior setter Heath Hughes fed the two outside hitters and ended up recording 37 assists.
BYU will meet again with UC Santa Barbara tomorrow night in Provo before the conference opens at UCLA next week.
Saturday's game against the Gauchos can be watched live on BYUtv at 7 p.m.