PROVO, Utah — After a bye week, the No. 8 BYU men's volleyball team hosts Long Island University on Thursday, February 8 and Saturday, February 10 in the Smith Fieldhouse. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. MST, with the broadcast streaming live on BYUtv and byutv.org.
COUGARS (7-3)
After two losses against No. 7 UC Irvine, the Cougars dropped one spot to No. 9 in the AVCA Coaches Poll released on Monday, January 29, but bumped up back to the No. 8 rank in this week's poll. BYU has been ranked in the top-10 since February 6, 2023.
Junior middle blocker Teon Taylor was honored as the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, January 29. Taylor led the Cougars in blocks with 18 through four matches against No. 14 Princeton and No. 7 UC Irvine (Jan. 22-27), averaging 1.20 blocks per set. Against UC Irvine on Friday, Taylor led all players in blocks with eight total, a new season-high. The next night, he led BYU in blocks with five. It was the fourth career MPSF weekly award for Taylor.
BYU dropped two games against No. 7 UC Irvine amidst multiple Cougars garnering career best performances. Outside hitter Miks Raminis had a career high five service aces on Saturday which is tied for No. 8 all-time for most in a single match in the BYU men’s volleyball rally scoring era. Luke Benson also tied his kills career high of 21 in the match, hitting .229 on the night. Libero Jackson Fife recorded a career high 11 digs as well. Setter Tyler Hergert achieved a career high and individual season high 51 assists through Saturday’s contest, and a career high four blocks.
SHARKS (3-6)
Long Island University added a men’s volleyball program beginning in the 2022 season. LIU is a private university located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, with an enrollment of about 15,500 students. The school’s 35 athletics teams, which are nicknamed the Sharks, compete in NCAA Division I and have won a combined 23 national championships.
The Sharks have faced two teams that BYU has also faced so far this season: Loyola Chicago and Lewis. The Sharks fell 3-0 to Loyola in Illinois on January 26th. The following day on January 27th, the Sharks defeated Lewis 3-1 in Neil Carey Arena for their first win over a ranked opponent in program history. The Cougars fell to Lewis in five sets on Sat., Jan. 13 earlier this season.
The Sharks are led by sophomore opposite/outside hitter Kale Spencer who has 76 kills and eight service aces. Spencer was named NEC Player of the Week on Jan. 30. Middle blocker Arthur Sueur has been named NEC Defensive Player of the Week twice this season, averaging 1.14 blocks per set.
COUGARS VS. SHARKS
The Long Island Sharks and BYU Cougars will face each other for the first time in NCAA history this week.
BROADCAST
- Thursday, February 8 at 7 p.m. MST on BYUtv
- Saturday, February 10 at 7 p.m. MST on BYUtv