BYU kept up its winning ways Friday evening at the Smith Fieldhouse, extending its consecutive sets without a loss streak to 18 in a sweep of MPSF sophomore Menlo to open league play.
The Cougars pushed past a rocky start to ultimately overpower the Oaks and earn a sixth straight triumph.
BYU’s victory keeps Menlo winless on the year, the Cougars defeating their visitors by set scores of 25-21, 25-18, 25-21.
“I just felt like we could have been a little more assertive and aggressive attacking,” BYU coach Shawn Olmstead said of his team’s struggles at the beginning of the match.
“(Menlo) got touches and they converted them, so I don’t want to take anything away from them. … I wanted (our players) to learn through that, and credit to them, they did.”
BYU had to overcome Menlo’s .485 hitting percentage along with its self-inflicted slow start to take the first set. The Cougars trailed the entire first half of the initial set, going down by as many as five before using a 5-0 run to take a 17-15 lead.
BYU’s advantage grew from there before it earned the four-point win behind six kills each from sophomore outside hitter Connor Oldani and freshman outside hitter Trevor Herget.
“They came out really strong in the first set and we kind of came out a little slow,” Herget said. “But we kind of got the hang of things and started to pull away, and credit to our coaches for helping us through that and a bunch of the older guys for supporting us.”
The Cougars had little trouble downing the Oaks in the second set, scoring four points in a row on two different occasions to cruise to the win.
Herget gave BYU five kills this time around and junior opposite hitter Teilon-Jonathan Tufuga added a pair of service aces, helping the home team jump out to a comfortable 2-0 set lead.
The Cougars got in another early deficit to start the third set before quickly gaining control of things and keeping Menlo at arm’s length the rest of the way.
BYU’s victory felt imminent as the school finished things off with another four-point win.
The Cougars’ lineup looked a little different Friday as Olmstead called on 10 different players throughout the night, sprinkling in veterans with some of their less-seasoned teammates, giving his roster greater experience and depth.
“Those guys that came in have done a pretty good job when they’ve played throughout the season thus far,” Olmstead said. “I felt really comfortable that we could make a few changes and so I was proud of those guys.”
That experience could pay dividends in the future for BYU’s youthful roster. Herget is one of the young Cougars who continues to shine, and he earned a career high and team-leading 11 kills Friday night while adding four digs, two blocks and an assist.
Herget’s career night helped BYU get in the win column in MPSF play. Entering Friday, the Cougars and the Oaks were the only MPSF squads yet to play a league contest.
The win puts BYU in the upper half of the standings with No. 1 UCLA, No. 18 Stanford, No. 4 USC and No. 6 Pepperdine – all of which have perfect MPSF records in the early going of league play.
BYU will look to add to its MPSF win tally when it faces Menlo for a second night in a row at the Smith Fieldhouse Saturday at 7 p.m.