A third-set comeback helped BYU men’s volleyball sweep Concordia Irvine on Friday night at the Smith Fieldhouse.
“We put the pressure on them that we needed to that we talked about all match,” BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “We did a great job being steady and consistent in that.”
Ben Patch led the Cougars in kills with 16, hitting at a .303 clip. Jake Langlios followed with 13, hitting a .259 clip. Storm Fa’agata-Tufuga led the team with seven digs.
The Cougars started the match with a devastating triple block by Jarman, Durkin and Fa’agata-Tufuga. The Cougars and Eagles battled the first set neck and neck, BYU gaining a lead late in the set, 24-23. As a fitting bookend, Jarman and Durkin closed the set with a block and BYU won the set 25-23.
The Cougars took the lead in the second set 8-6 with an ace from Patch. With strong serves from Patch on the endline, BYU stretched its lead to 12-6. The Cougars won set two 25-17 behind a .520 hitting clip.
The Eagles started strong in the third set, opening on a 6-0 run and eventually taking a 12-4 lead. BYU trailed 24-20 late, but closed the set on a 5-0 run to sweep the Eagles.
The Cougars are set to host McKendree on Saturday night. BYU played the Bogeys in its home opener and collected a 3-0 victory. But Olmstead said there’s still plenty his team needs to work on.
“We’ve got to respond a lot better going in tomorrow night,” Olmstead said. “Everybody deserves these guys to come out a lot more aggressive and assertive from the get go.”
