COSTA MESA – Men's volleyball saw its four-game win streak come to a close as #10 BYU took the first match of April in a 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-20) result Thursday night at the Freed Center. The Blue and Gold had its best set score in the final frame, but never managed to match BYU's pace in serve receive. Vanguard drops to 8-12 and 4-5 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The Cougars snap a two-game loss streak and move up to 18-8, 5-4.

What Happened? The Cougars had just one attack error in the opening stanza. They hit .478 (12-1-23) and triggered the media timeout in less than 10 minutes from opening serve, in a red-hot start inside the Freed. The Cougars snared a 5-0 start, including an ace and two VU attack errors.

The Lions had their first kill thanks to Logan Freemon, and saw two different scorers in Braddock Duckworth and Grant Veldman shoot them into a three-point deficit (7-4 BYU). The Cougars snapped into a 4-0 run to break double-figures, and VU's response came in the form of back-to-back services from Cole Oliver. BYU slipped out another ace out of their sleeve and blazed through the media timeout on another 4-2 run (15-9 BYU).

A monster double-block push kept the momentum with the visitors out of the break and inched them up toward the red zone in a 5-5 scoring split. VU's fifth and final attack error warranted a set point, and BYU sealed the set off the bic.

Set 2
Despite being the worst set score for VU, the Lions earned the most frame ties of the contest, with seven. Unfortunately for Vanguard, they all came through the first seven points of the set. Micah Sybesma and Duckworth fueled the primary funnel for early Lion scoring, and Duckworth also combined with Freemon for a double block for a 7-7 score.

BYU would outblock Vanguard 4-1 in the period and used a solo block to regain the lead, a buffer that was broken for the remainder of the set. The Cougars had an 8-4 run, highlighted by a service ace that pushed the media timeout to 15-11.

The Lions did not find another kill until the 20-13 BYU mark, after two VU attack errors and a bad set put the Cougars in the driver's seat. Veldman and Oliver were the last Lions to post points in the stanza, as the Cougars sped away with an ace, block, and two more Lion attack errors, marking a 25-15 BYU win.

Set 3
The concluding frame was scrappy as VU hit .000 (6-6-31), while BYU suffered a match-high seven attack errors, wheeling their hitting percentage down to .100 (10-7-30).

Both sides traded service errors to start, but VU pulled away with a Veldman kill and another serving of a Duckworth, Freemon double block to rouse up the crowd (3-3). Like the previous set, however, the Lions suffered a kill drought. BYU piled a 7-1 run, which forced a Lion timeout after two VU errors and back-to-back Cougar aces.

The scoring flare traded sides, as BYU went empty in attack, fueling a 6-2 Vanguard response. This time, BYU was the one coughing up errors, as the Cougars bled four miscues for a 12-10 score.

That was the closest margin Vanguard reached for the rest of the game. Setter Willy Wang's strike on two was the only Lion kill amid a 10-5 Cougar run (22-15 BYU). Veldman, Sybesma, and Oliver each tagged kills down the stretch, but third time was the charm for BYU, as they eventually cashed in on match point for the 25-20 win.

What's Next? The two teams will meet again tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the Freed Center.