BYU men's volleyball stays undefeated, sweeps top-10 Tritons at Smith Fieldhouse

At a packed Smith Fieldhouse, the No. 8 BYU Cougars swept the No. 10 UC San Diego Tritons in three straight sets (25‑21, 25‑19, 25‑19) on Friday night.

In a top-10 matchup, the Cougars set the pace from the start, extending their undefeated season-opening run to 3‑0.

Senior leaders and key contributors across the roster set the tone early, helping BYU maintain control throughout the match.

Coming off being named MPSF Defensive Player of the Week, senior Connor Oldani carried his momentum into this matchup. Normally a left-side hitter, Oldani shifted to the right side for this game.

“Last week, Connor was definitely getting a little comfortable with playing on the right side,” said coach Shawn Olmstead. “Today, he got a lot of reps, so he was pretty aggressive.”

Oldani led the Cougars in kills, posting a career-high 16 after averaging six kills per game in the first two matches of the season.

Both teams traded points early, keeping the set tied until BYU went on a 5‑2 run to take a 9‑7 lead. Oldani set the tone with seven kills on seven swings to start the match. Tyler Herget ran the offense efficiently, spreading the ball to attackers and creating separation throughout the frame.

The set featured six ties and two lead changes before AJ Cottle delivered the final ace to close it 25‑21. The Cougars hit .700 on the set with zero attack errors, while UC San Diego finished at .474.

BYU never trailed in the second frame. The Cougars jumped to an early lead with an over-pass kill from Teilone-Jonathan Tufuga, followed by an ace and a solo block by Cottle. BYU ran the board 5‑2, forcing a Tritons timeout.

UC San Diego responded with a brief run, but BYU countered with a roof block by Herget — assisted by Cottle — and a late 5‑3 scoring run. Oldani capped the set with two kills as BYU took it 25‑19.

The Cougars opened the third set with strong attacking from Oldani and Gavin Chambers, including Oldani’s 16th kill of the night, pushing him to a career-high total.

Mid-set, BYU withstood a brief Tritons rally and finished strong with a 4‑1 run, highlighted by a solo block from Oldani and a triple block by Tufuga, Oldani, and Chambers. BYU closed the sweep 25‑19 as UC San Diego committed a service error.

The Cougars finished the match with a side-out percentage of 75.4%.

This matchup marked the first meeting between the two programs since February 2022, when the Tritons won both encounters in five-set matches.

BYU will look to extend its winning streak against UC San Diego in a rematch Saturday at 7 p.m. at Smith Fieldhouse.