LOS ANGELES – The BYU men’s volleyball team was swept by UC Irvine in the national championship game Saturday night at the Pauley Pavilion, home of the UCLA Bruins (23–25, 22–25, 24–26).
BYU kept it close but squandered a lead in every set. It blew an 11–4 lead in the second set and couldn’t maintain its late set leads. BYU was out-blocked 17–6 in the match.
Taylor Sander led BYU with 20 kills while Rusty Lavaja and Josue Rivera each chipped in eight. UC Irvine was led by Connor Hughes, Zack La Cavera and Kevin Tillie, who each recorded 11 kills.
UC Irvine won its fourth volleyball title in seven years while BYU dropped to 3–2 in championship matches. Its only previous championship match loss was to Lewis in the 2003 title game.
