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BYU senior Kupono Browne (13) celebrates a point during a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match against Concordia Irvine at the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday, March 29, 2024.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Jon Stanley sets the ball during a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match against Concordia Irvine at the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday, March 29, 2024.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU senior Gavin Julien (10) rises up for a block in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match against Concordia Irvine at the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday, March 29, 2024.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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No. 7 BYU men’s volleyball picked up a sweep over Concordia University Irvine (25-21, 29-27, 25-21) at the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday night in a notable performance for senior Jon Stanley, who carded a career-high seven kills.

The win marked the first time BYU has earned a sweep since February 10 against Long Island, extending its home record to 8-5. The Cougars have now won 10 straight over Concordia stretching back to 2019.

“We were able to play together as a team,” said Stanley. “We don’t have to be perfect, but just need to make sure we’re doing the things we need to be doing. Once everyone buys into their role, it works out really good for us.”

BYU (13-7, 4-4 MPSF) hit .286 for the match while holding the Golden Eagles to a .155 clip. Outside hitter Luke Benson finished with a match-high 20 kills and hitting .541, while opposite hitter Kupono Browne ended with nine.

The Cougars totaled 45 kills, 43 assists, 32 digs and eight blocks. Junior Teon Taylor led the team with a .571 hitting percentage, recording four kills. Middle blocker Gavin Julien also totaled four slams.

Stanley opened the first set by recording the match’s very first ace, taking the score to 1-1. Neither team woould lead by more than one until CUI went up 7-5. The Cougars then won five of the next six points to go up 10-8, including an ace from Browne. The run also included a wild point that saw the ball soar near the ceiling and bounce around before Concordia returned and later met a strong Cougar wall at the net for the stop.

The Golden Eagles knotted the score at 12-12 before BYU scored four straight in a sequence powered by Julien. The senior middle blocker recorded a tip kill off an assist from Tyler Herget. Julien then extended for a diving save to set up a slam from Benson. After a media timeout, The run was capped by a double roof block by Taylor and Benson.

The Golden Eagles cut the lead to two at 19-17, but it was as close as the would get. Benson won a one-on-one spar at the net as BYU capitalized on a pair of errors to make it 23-19, followed by a set point kill from Benson off Herget’s assist.

Set 2 began close as the Golden Eagles again went up 7-5. Taylor and Browne tallied a pair of kills along with a Concordia error to make it 8-8. During the sequence, Herget extended for a pancake save, but the Golden Eagles won the point. Concordia then went up 13-10 before Benson carded a kill.

Down 14-12, Benson helped cut the narrow deficit by quickly recognizing Golden Eagles out of position, placing a dump kill to win the point. He then followed it up with an ace, joining Browne for the Cougars’ second on the night with the score at 14-14.

Later, Browne’s second ace of the night was followed by an attack error from Concordia as BYU went up 19-17. The Golden Eagles won five of the next seven points to go up 22-21 before the Cougars went ahead 24-23. Concordia won two straight to set up their own set point before serving long. After BYU got two more chances to win on set point, Stanley carded his sixth kill of the night to cement a 29-27 win.

Slams from Stanley, Julien and Benson keyed a strong BYU start in Set 3 as the Cougars went up 5-2. The momentum continued as Herget and Browne both dived for critical saves, keeping the point alive to set up a kill by Benson to extend the lead to 9-5.

Three straight errors from the Golden Eagles made it 13-8. Two kills from Benson and one from Browne gave the Cougars their biggest lead of the night at 18-10. Concordia responded with nine of the next 13 points to cut the advantage to just three at 22-19.

Fife countered with a diving serve return, enabling Benson to soar for a kill, who later closed off the match with a set point kill.

On Saturday, BYU honored seniors Kupono Browne, Gavin Julien and Jon Stanley, sweeping Concordia again in three sets (25-16, 25-12, 25-19) at the Smith Fieldhouse.

Browne led the Cougars in kills and digs, registering 13 and nine, respectively. Julien led the team in blocks with five. Stanley rounded out the seniors with six kills, BYU’s third-most kills of the night, including a season-high six digs.

The Cougars as a team hit .425 on the night and held the Golden Eagles to a .146 clip. Junior Teon Taylor hit a perfect 1.000 going 6-6 on attempts through the match.

BYU totaled 41 kills, 30 digs and four aces. The Cougars outblocked the Golden Eagles 6-0.

The Cougars end the MPSF regular season this weekend with a road trip to southern California for a pair of matches at USC.

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