Ben Patch and the Cougars beat UC Irvine for the second time in two days to improve to 6-2 on the season.
'Another great team performance by the group,' BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. 'All of our hitters stayed active and competed the entire match. Our overall serve and pass was strong today.'
Ben Patch goes for the dig against Stanford earlier this month. The Cougars defeated UC Irvine for the second time in two days Saturday night in California. (Ari Davis)
BYU opened up a seven point lead in the first set against and led 17-10. The Anteaters fought their way back to 24-24 behind strong serving and high energy. The Cougars ended the set by scoring two unanswered points from Price Jarman and Ben Patch kills to win the set 26-24.
The Anteaters started the second set strong to gain a 20-16 lead over the Cougars. BYU came storming back after calling a timeout and tied the score at 21-21. The Cougars tied the score after a Patch kill and took the Lead after a Patch and Jarman combined block. Following the block BYU fans in attendance chanted 'BYU' until Patch scored a service ace to win the set.
The third set started off close with the Cougars leading by only two points at 10-8. BYU sealed their sweep over UC Irvine with a dominant 12-4 run to finish the set.
The Cougars improved on their service play with only five errors compared to Friday night's 14. The Cougars also posted four aces in the match compared to three on Friday.
BYU returns home on Friday to take on UC Santa Barbara at the Smith Fieldhouse in Provo.