Ramanis led the way for the Cougars (8-2) as he registered 19 kills on a .486 hitting percentage, his highest of the season. The sophomore also recorded two service aces, two blocks and five digs on the night.

Trent Moser was one kill short of matching his career-high as he recorded 15 kills in the 3-1 win. The freshman hit .333 while also adding four digs and a block for BYU.

“At the beginning of the season, no one saw us being a contender this year,” said junior outside hitter Kupono Browne. “We have been working so hard in the practice gym to achieve our goals and that’s to hang another national championship banner in the Fieldhouse.”

The Cougars tallied 54 kills while outhitting the Gauchos .300-.260. BYU also carded 36 digs, four service aces and six blocks in the win.

BYU leading 18-15 down the stretch in Set 1. An ace from Anthony Cherfan extended the lead to four at 21-17, but two consecutive BYU errors cut the lead to two, 21-19.

The Cougars responded with four straight points to take the set 25-19. Two of the four points were kills from Ramanis, with Moser adding one as well.

Ramanis had six kills in the first, with Cherfan and Moser registering four each. The Cougars hit .522 in the frame, with the Gauchos converting on a .286 clip.

UCSB took a 2-0 lead to start the second set, but BYU countered with a 6-0 run to lead 6-2. The Gauchos would chip away at the gap but never got closer than two at 11-9. The Cougars slowly expanded their lead to five, 18-13.

Cherfan finished with four kills in back-to-back sets, with his eighth kill of the match sealing the set for BYU, 25-20.

BYU was limited to single-digit kills in Set 3 for the only time in the match while also being held to a .030 hitting percentage. The Gauchos notched their match high, .440, on 13 kills with just two errors. The UCSB defense also added four blocks in the set.

The Gauchos survived two match points in the final frame, but Ramanis once again led the way for the Cougars, landing his sixth kill of the set to secure the match, 25-17.

BYU next travels to California for two matches at UCLA on Friday and Saturday.

Cougar 4x400m record broken

No. 21 BYU men’s track and field’s success ranged from Texas to Boston Saturday as the 4×400-meter school record was broken for the first time in eight years while three Cougars posted new top-10 marks to go along with 11 PR’s.

The 4x400m relay team – including Eli Hazlett, Trey Jackson, Spencer Carlile and Josh Taylor – clocked a 3:05.73 time to spring nearly two seconds ahead of the prior BYU record set in 2015. The performance put the team on top of the 16 other participants, including host Texas Tech’s third-ranked relay team who placed third.

The event win caps a remarkable weekend in Texas for Taylor and Jackson as it became Taylor’s second time in as many days to stand atop the BYU record books, tying Cade Lindahl’s 400m school record yesterday. Jackson finished No. 3 all-time in the 400m Friday.

In Boston, Casey Clinger and Ryan Cibart cruised into the top-10 in the mile and 800m. Clinger’s No. 4 all-time mile finish of 3:57.13 placed him third in his heat and ahead of four nationally-ranked, top-15 athletes in the group, including fifth-ranked Matthew Rizzo of Georgetown. Cibart’s 1:49.01 mark moved him to No. 7 all-time. He placed first in his heat and finished close behind three top-10 athletes from No. 20 Princeton, Northeastern, and Georgetown.

“We were really happy with the performances in Boston today,” BYU assistant distance coach Ryan Waite said. “When you come all the way out here for a meet, you do it for a purpose and the men capitalized on the opportunity. There were quite a few personal bests, and more BYU top-10 all-time marks to add to an already strong season. We love seeing those top-10 lists get stronger each meet.”

Joey Nokes and Creed Thompson pulled their weight as well in bolstering the top-10 list for the 5000m. Nokes improved on his No. 4 all-time position by over four seconds after crossing the line at 13:29.30, maintaining his position at fourth. Creed Thompson joined twin brother Davin Thompson in BYU’s top-10, jumping to No. 6 with a time of 13:34.30.

Thompson’s top-10 entry became the sixth top-10 recorded time among current roster members in the 5000m.

The Cougars now prepare for the MPSF Indoor Championships next Friday and Saturday, Feb. 17-18 in Spokane, Washington.

Cougar softball hammers North Dakota State to finish Mexico trip

Chloe Temples dealt five scoreless innings as a six-run third inning fueled BYU softball to a 10-1 win over North Dakota State at Nancy Almaraz Field on Saturday afternoon.

Temples went the distance in the Cougars’ (2-2, 0-0 WCC) run-rule victory over the Bison. The senior gave up one run on four hits while retiring the side in order in three of the five innings.

Both Temples and left fielder Maddie Bejarano were named to the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge all-tournament team for their performances this week. Temples recorded a 1.65 ERA in 12 innings pitched with nine strikeouts. Bejarano hit .500 for the tournament with six hits, one run scored and an RBI, also flashing the leather with a foul ball snag in BYU’s win against Wisconsin.

BYU will be back in action at the Littlewood Classic in Tempe, Arizona as it takes on Arizona State on Thursday, Feb. 16. The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.

BYU women’s tennis beats USU, men’s tennis loses to Aggies

BYU women’s tennis defeated Utah State 5-2 at home on Saturday. The Cougars swept the singles matches and only lost one doubles match during the afternoon competition.

The Cougars return to action next week on Friday, Feb. 12 against Colorado. The road match will begin at 6 p.m. MST.

Meanwhile, BYU men’s tennis lost on the road at Utah State Saturday, dropping a 5-2 contest.

The Cougars got singles wins from Dominik Jakovljevic and Redd Owen. The Aggies won the doubles point in two matches and won the top four singles matches as well.

“Tough loss today,” said BYU head coach Dave Porter. “We need to look at our doubles combinations and get healthy. Back to work on Monday.”

The Cougars return home next week with matches on Friday and Saturday. Friday’s contest is against Weber State and will begin at 11:00 a.m. MST on BYU’s Indoor Tennis Courts.