By Jonathan Andrus
The top-ranked BYU men”s volleyball team (17-3, 11-3) got back to its winning ways, completing a series sweep of No. 4 Stanford (11-6 overall, 7-5) 30-28, 30-25, 30-23.
After dropping a tough 5-game match to then ranked No. 12 Pacific, BYU needed this win to solidfy its spot in upcoming MPSF tournament.
Game one of the first match on Monday, April 2, was the closest of the three, with the Cougars needing a late run to come from behind. Stanford trailed 21-17, but reeled off six straight points to take a 23-21 advantage. BYU, however, scored the next five points for a three-point cushion.
The Cardinal later scored two unanswered points to creep within 29-28 before BYU closed out the game. BYU recorded eight of their 15 blocks in that game one victory.
BYU hit .464 with 15 kills and just two errors in game two, and used a 7-2 run midway through the game to pull away. With the score tied at 13-13, the Cougars reeled off seven of the next nine for a 20-15 lead.
BYU would not let Stanford get closer than three points the rest of the way.
Overall BYU, who out-blocked Stanford 15-4 and finished with a team hitting percentage of .425. BYU also committed just three
hitting errors in games two and three combined.
The Cougars were led unior Mike Wall who had 10 kills, seven blocks and six digs. Junior Joaquin Acosta also added 10 kills and five digs.
The second match on Tuesday, April 3, wasn”t as close, with the Cougars winning 30-25, 30-22, 30-25.
BYU”s next series starts April 13 at home against Hawaii.
The top four teams in the Mountain and Pacific Divisions will qualify for the MPSF Tournament, beginning Saturday, April 21. Eight teams will be seeded and the top four teams will host a first-round match.
After the first round, the championship tournament will be held on the following Thursday and Saturday (April 26-28) on the home court of the highest remaining seed.
Currently, BYU, UCLA and Pepperdine have clinched playoff berths from the
Mountain Division, while Hawaii and Long Beach State are the only teams to clinch from the Pacific Division.
