No. 8 BYU men’s volleyball defeated No. 14 Princeton 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-23) on Tuesday evening at the Smith Fieldhouse, sweeping the Tigers on back-to-back nights to improve to 7-1 and 4-0 at home.

“I’m proud of our players for taking on the task of playing four matches in five days,” said BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead. “They really found a way to win tonight after trailing in majority of the first set. I am proud of them for fighting through every point. Jon stepped in for us tonight and he had zero doubt about what he needed to do as a starter. He helps us out everywhere. We were grateful to have a program like Princeton here this week. Their staff could not stop complimenting the venue and were very appreciative of the hospitality and the fans.”

The Cougars outhit the Tigers .370 to .265 on the night while totaling 37 kills, 37 assists, 22 digs and two blocks. Luke Benson led the team with 13 kills on a .650 clip to go along with two digs. Senior Jon Stanley recorded a season-high four put-aways in his second career start, including a decisive kill to claim the first set. Libero Jackson Fife had his first career start, posting a career-high seven digs to lead the team.

Trent Moser recorded 11 kills and six digs as the sophomore recorded a team-high 26 attacks.

BYU is now 5-0 all-time against Princeton.

The Cougars will host No. 7 UC Irvine for a pair of matches in the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday and Saturday.

BYU swimmers earn Big 12 awards

Jordan Tiffany earned his second Big 12 Men’s Swimmer of the Week honor and fourth league award on the season following newcomer of the week citations on Oct. 4 and 18. Tiffany’s four awards this season tie him with Will Modglin of No. 8 Texas for the most such recognitions this season.

The junior from Pleasant Grove, Utah contributed 48 points in the BYU men’s tri-meet win over Air Force and Colorado Mesa at the Richards Building Pool on Jan. 19-20. Tiffany continued his dominant season in the 100 fly and 100 back with wins in each at 48.36 and 48.45, respectively.

Tiffany led off the 200 medley relay squad to a win at 1:30.12 and began the meet with a pool-record 1:45.56 in the 200 individual medley. The previous record was set by none other than himself while swimming for Lone Peak High School in 2019.

Tiffany maintains his perch among the top 100 fly and back swimmers in the nation with the seventh and 11th best times, respectively.

Mickey Strauss swept the men’s 1 and 3-meter diving events over the weekend and sealed his second conference Diver of the Week honor this season (Oct. 4). At 352.89 points in the 1-meter, the Junior from Provo, Utah passed up Laurent Gosselin-Paradis of No. 15 USC for 17th nationally in the event.

Strauss’s 352.60 in the 3-meter boosted him past No. 22 Wisconsin’s Daniel Muller for No. 33 nationally.

Alexia Jackson replicated Strauss’s success for BYU women’s diving and brings home her first award of the season. The sophomore from Mesa, Arizona tallied a winning 308.80 and 284.05 in the 3-meter and 1-meter, respectively. Jackson’s 3-meter performance was sufficient to pass Yale’s Hayden Henderson for 28th nationally, while her new 1-meter score places her 33rd.

The BYU divers will compete once again on Feb. 1-3 at the Air Force Diving Invitational at Cadet Natatorium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Following three-straight weeks of meets, BYU swimming will return to the pool in a home meet versus rival Utah on Feb. 9-10.

Newsletter