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BYU's Anthony Cherfan takes a swing against UC Santa Barbara during a men's college volleyball match at the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday, February 10, 2023.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Heath Hughes (left) congratulates teammate Anthony Cherfan after a kill during a men's college volleyball match against UC Santa Barbara on Friday, February 10, 2023.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Anthony Cherfan scores on a swing against UC Santa Barbara in a men's college volleyball match at the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday, February 10, 2023.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Jon Stanley (center) leads his team in a celebration after a point during a men's college volleyball match against UC Santa Barbara at the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday, February 10, 2023.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's (from left) Kapono Browne, Gavin Julien and Trent Moser rise up for a block in a men's college volleyball match against UC Santa Barbara at the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday, February 10, 2023.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Mitchel Worthington (left) celebrates with teammates after a point in a men's college volleyball match against UC Santa Barbara at the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday, February 10, 2023.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU’s Anthony Cherfan is a devotee of the “Mamba Mentality.”

Growing up in Los Angeles, Cherfan played basketball for Kobe Bryant’s Mamba Academy until his junior year of high school. He switched to volleyball, introduced to the sport by Mason Briggs, now a libero for Team USA.

Cherfan’s mental toughness was on full display Friday night as No. 10 BYU recovered from a first set loss to take down No. 14 UC Santa Barbara 3-1 (22-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-20) in front of 3,516 fans at the Smith Fieldhouse.

Cherfan, a 6-foot-6 sophomore, entered the match late in the first set and provided a huge spark for the Cougars.

“I’m going to be real with you guys,” Cherfan said. “Out in the AAU world (of basketball), they would throw you in and you literally have to become a warrior. You have to have a bulletproof heart and a bulletproof soul. You have to come out and show what you have because in reality, if you don’t have confidence in yourself, no one else will.”

Cherfan had a huge start to the second set with three kills and a service ace, getting BYU out to a 9-3 lead. He ended the match with 14 kills on 20 swings and only two errors (.600) with nine digs, three blocks and two aces.

“We just needed a look,” BYU coach Shawn Olmstead said. “Guys need to come in and try to improve things. He did that to a ‘T.’ He’s a physical player and a really good blocker. He did a good job serving. The reality is he’s really new to the game and you see those glimpses. But he has a lot of energy and a lot of passion.”

BYU was outplayed in just about every category by UCSB in the first set. The Cougars had just one kill on their first 10 swings and had seven service errors, hitting only .185 for the set. The Gauchos block touched most of the Cougars swings and scored easily in transition, earning a 23-17 lead after back-to-back BYU hitting errors. The Cougars managed to pull within two at 23-21 after a Trent Moser kill and a UCSB error, but the Gauchos closed the set with a 25-22 victory on a Rees Barnett attack.

Cherfan’s great start in Set 2 changed momentum and BYU maintained that advantage the rest of the match. The Gauchos managed to trim the deficit to five points at 23-18 but that was as close as they could get. A UCSB error got BYU to set point and Cherfan fired off a kill for the 25-19 victory. Cherfan had six kills, an ace and two block assists in the second set, where the Cougars hit over .500 for most of the set and finished at .375.

The third set was close throughout, with 12 ties and eight lead changes. Neither team managed more than a two-point lead until the Cougars earned a 22-19 advantage from a Gavin Julien kill. UCSB rallied and tied the set at 23 all and Cherfan stuck again in the clutch. He earned a kill off the Gauchos block to get to 24-23 and after a strong Ramanis serve, Cherfan smashed an overpass for the winner.

Cherfan opened Set 4 with a hard shot off the face of a UCSB player and then fired an ace for a 6-4 BYU advantage. The Cougars took a 21-16 lead when Moser and Julien teamed up for a block, followed by a Moser kill and a solo block from Julien to go up 23-18. BYU got to match point on a UCSB service error and Moser fooled the Gauchos with an off-speed serve that hit for the floor for the match winner at 25-20.

Moser also finished with 14 kills (.300) and added four blocks for the Cougars (7-2). Heath Hughes contributed 37 assists and seven digs while leading the offense to a .297 hitting percentage after the slow start.

“Honestly, the key to all of this is just being poised and being consistent within the competitive greatness and spirit into every single rally, every single play,” Cherfan said. “We truly started to just trust each other more. Losing the first set, honestly, it wasn’t that big of a deal. We weren’t even worried about that because we knew that we were in a good spot as a team. If we would come back to our strengths, and just trust each other, that’s all we need.

“What we just witnessed was a game of art. They come and go, but this was a great match. Santa Barbara brought the scrappiness that they’re always known for, and they did a great job. But at the end of the day, we outplayed then and just put them back on their heels.”

Rees Barnett, playing in his first match of the season due to injury, led UCSB (2-8) with 19 kills and hit .250.

The same two teams will meet again on Saturday in the Fieldhouse at 7 p.m. MT.

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