BYU held UCLA to its second-fewest point total in a set this season in the second set, but couldn’t contain the Bruins in the other sets.

Connor Oldani led the Cougars with 14 kills in the match, hitting .393 He also stuffed the stat sheet with three aces, three blocks, three digs and two assists. Tyler Herget had 33 assists. Jackson Fife had a match-high eight digs.

A five-point run allowed UCLA to take control of Set 1 and win easily, 25-14. Leading 12-10 in the second set, BYU got a key kill from Teilon-Jonathan Tufuga in a 3-0 run to go out 17-12. Oldani contributed a kill and an ace and Gavin Chambers had a kill as the Cougars surged to a 20-12 advantage, finishing things off with an AJ Cottle attack for the 25-17 win to even the match at 1-1.

The 17 UCLA point were the second-fewest points scored in a set this season for the Bruins, having scored 16 in a loss against Long Beach at the beginning of the season.

The Bruins, who hit .474 and were led by Sean Kelly’s 16 kills, took control of Sets 3 and 4 to earn the victory.

The two teams will face each other again on Saturday at 6 p.m. Mountain Time in what will be the regular season finale.’

Wahlin officially signs with BYU

BYU has added another Utah native to their roster for the 2026-27 season with Jake Wahlin signing with the Cougars, head coach  Kevin Young  announced Thursday.

“We are excited to have Jake sign with us,” Young said. “He knows what it takes to compete at the highest level having played in two of the best conferences in the country. He has the ability to stretch the floor and rebounds the ball at a high level. We’re really excited about his versatility and the way he impacts winning.”

Wahlin comes to Provo after appearing in 88 games during his career that includes stops at Utah and Clemson. He has scored 407 points with 326 rebounds, 75 assists, 36 steals and 35 blocks.

Wahlin spent the first two season of his collegiate career at Utah appearing in 53 games with 23 starts for the Utes. He averaged 4.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game going 84-of-187 from the field, 28-of-88 from behind the arc and 27-of-43 from the free throw line.

The 6-foot-10 Provo native appeared in 20 games for the Utes as a true freshman after serving a two-year mission for mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Lithuania.

The former three-star recruit was a four-year letterwinner at Timpview High School leading the Thunderbirds to a 75-29 record. He earned First Team All-State honors as a senior after averaging 12.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

Iowa State softball outslugs BYU

BYU softball’s Hailey Shuler  hit a career-high two home runs as the it dropped Game 1 of a three-game series against Iowa State at Gail Miller Field on Thursday afternoon 14-10.

The two teams combined for 28 hits, with each claiming 14 apiece. The Cougars ended Thursday’s meeting with no errors, while the Cyclones sustained two.

Shuler finished 2 for 3 with four RBI, Bre Townsend was 2 for 4 with a homer and an RBI and Lexie Bennett was 3 for 4, scoring two runs.

Shuler’s third inning home run cut the Cyclones’ advantage to 4-3. Iowa State extended its lead again in the fourth with four more runs and putting the Cyclones ahead 8-3. A second double in the inning then brought the lead to 9-3.

A sacrifice fly from Lily Owens got the Cougars on the board in the bottom of the fourth, scoring  Tristen Turlington  from third. Shuler brought BYU closer in her next at-bat, hitting a three-run home run to left field and bringing the Cougars to just a two-score deficit at 9-7. Her home run marked a career-high two home runs in a game.

Despite BYU’s offensive surge, Iowa State’s momentum continued into the fifth, with a double bringing in two runners. A two-run homer followed, moving the Cyclones ahead 13-7.

Townsend opened the bottom of the fifth with a home run over the left field fence.The Cougars loaded the bases and following a fielding error, scored two more runs, moving the score to 13-10 headed into the sixth.

After a scoreless sixth inning, Iowa State hit a home run, increasing its lead. BYU remained scoreless for the remainder of the game, cementing the Game 1 loss.

Big 12 releases women’s volleyball schedule

Along with the Big 12, BYU women’s volleyball released its 2026 Conference schedule on Thursday afternoon.

Similar to their previous three seasons in the league, the Cougars’ 18-game slate features nine home games and nine road contests. BYU has a home-and-home series with Arizona, Baylor, Colorado and Utah, dropping Arizona State as a pod member in 2026.

The Cougars will host Baylor, West Virginia, Colorado, Arizona State, Utah, Texas Tech, Arizona, Cincinnati and TCU this fall.

BYU will visit Kansas State, Kansas, Houston, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa State, Baylor and UCF in the upcoming season.

The Cougars’ non-conference schedule and broadcast plans will be announced at a later date. View the full Big 12 release at the league’s website.

Saunders ties personal best in high jump

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Connor Saunders took first in the high jump at the Pacific Coast Invitational at Jack Rose Track Thursday.

Saunders tied with three other athletes for first with a height of 2.06m/6-9. The senior from Syracuse, Utah tied his personal record in the event originally set during the 2025 season. Saunders was joined by Hayden Gribble and Carter Walker in the event. Gribble tied for seventh with a height of 1.96m/6-5.

Silas Zimmerman hit a personal-record 5.23m/17-1.75 mark in the pole vault taking third overall. The freshman surpassed his previous personal best mark of 5.20m/17-0.75 set at the Big 12 Indoor Championships.

Mark Bryant took seventh in the shot put to improve his personal-record in the event with a 17.54m/57-6.5 throw. Tyler Poole finished just behind him with a mark of 17.44m/57-2.75 to take eighth with Erik Bryant taking 33rd.