IRVINE, Calif. — No. 5 BYU men’s volleyball (6-2) fell 3-0 (21-25, 12-25, 19-25) against No. 2 UC Irvine in the Bren Events Center on Friday night.
Teilon-Jonathan Tufuga led BYU with nine kills while Niko Hales led in blocks with two. Senior Miks Ramanis appeared in BYU’s starting lineup for the first time since its season opener, posting four kills.
The Cougars hit a season-low .128 hitting percentage while UC Irvine tallied 41 kills on a .351 clip, holding BYU to just 27 kills. UC Irvine collected eight aces while BYU totaled four.
Set One
A block by Hales took the score to 8-7, with the Cougars trailing by just one in the early stages of set one. BYU was able to tie at 10, but UC Irvine went on to post a five-point lead at 17-12 to force a BYU timeout.
A 4-0 run late in the set by BYU, highlighted by two Keoni Thiim aces, took the score to 22-19, leading to a UC Irvine timeout with the Cougars trailing by three. BYU couldn’t gain another spark, and the Anteaters would win 25-21 off a Cougar attack error.
Through set one, the Cougars were hitting .222 while UC Irvine managed a .324 team clip.
Set Two
UC Irvine opened set two with a commanding 7-2 lead, causing BYU to burn an early timeout. After a 6-0 run by the Anteaters, an ace by BYU’s Tufuga took the score to 10-3, but UC Irvine remained on top. The Cougars called another timeout at 14-5, looking to halt UC Irvine’s large lead.
Tyler Herget subbed in off the Cougar bench to serve, and immediately recorded an ace for a 19-9 score. UC Irvine continued to pile on the points, and BYU would never lead during the second set, with UC Irvine claiming a 25-12 win for a 2-0 lead.
The Cougars were plagued by six attack errors, hitting in the negative at -.133 in the second frame.
Set Three
A new rotation in set three, featuring setter Herget and opposite Ian Little, aimed to bring a new energy to the court for the Cougars. A kill by Little brought the score to 5-2, with BYU trailing by three early on. BYU pulled away by two points at 9-7 after another Little kill, but would later call a timeout at 12-7 after three consecutive Anteater kills.
A kill by Teon Taylor took the score to 18-13, with BYU still trailing by five. The Cougars struggled to gain back any momentum, and UC Irvine would go on to win the third set 25-19, winning 3-0.
Next Up
The Cougars return to the Smith Fieldhouse after two weeks on the road to face No. 4 Hawaii in Provo, for the first time since 2019, on Friday, Jan. 31 and Saturday, Feb. 1. Both matches will be live on BYUtv, with a simultaneous cast on Big 10+.