Trent Moser and Miks Ramanis led the offense on Saturday with 14 and 13 kills, respectively. BYU’s starting setter Tyler Herget finished with 40 assists, two aces and a match-high five digs. Gavin Julien and Kupono Browne both recorded five blocks, a season-high for Browne.

The Cougars (5-1) boasted a season-high .455 hitting percentage, holding the Gauchos (2-5) to a .250 clip. BYU also recorded 46 kills compared to UCSB’s 32.

In the first match on Friday, the Cougars defeated the Gauchos, 3-1 (28-26, 19-25, 25-22, 25-20).

“It was a good, tough win for our team on the road,” said BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead. “Our guys plugged along and got points when we really needed them. What a night for Trent (Moser). He really flipped a switch and made some great adjustments with his attacking tonight. (Todd) Herget made some good decisions in key moments that were crucial plays for us. I was also proud of Luke for his role tonight.”

Leading BYU’s offense, it was Moser, a sophomore outside hitter, who produced a career-night with 22 kills on a .439 clip. Another key performer for BYU’s offense came Herget, a sophomore setter, debuting in his first collegiate career start for the Cougars. Herget finished the match with a career-high in assists with 45 accompanied by a match-high nine digs. Kupono Browne also contributed an individual season-high of four aces, including eight kills.

The Cougars finished with 49 kills, 49 assists and a .327 clip, holding UCSB (2-4) to a .288 clip.

The Cougars return to the Smith Fieldhouse after a two-week road trip to host Princeton in a pair of matches, beginning on Monday, January 22 at 7 p.m. MST, with a live broadcast on BYUtv and byutv.org.

BYU’s Christian Allen earns Team USA spot for 2024 World Athletic Championships

BYU distance runner Christian Allen earned a spot on Team USA’s Cross Country roster for the 2024 World Athletic Championships, after finishing sixth at the USATF Cross Country Championships Saturday afternoon.

“It was awesome and such a surreal experience,” said Allen. “It was a really cool opportunity to see a miracle. I feel like God’s been helping me. To make a long story short, I have been dealing with some really weird pain in my quad that started last Friday. I tried not to overthink it, but it persisted this whole week. I asked for all my family and friends to pray for me, starting yesterday. Like President [Russell M.] Nelson has said, we are supposed to seek miracles in our lives. I felt shaky this morning, but I knew God could make it disappear when the gun went off. Sure enough, when it went off my legs felt normal. I had the confidence I needed to push hard and persist through the pain. It was a really cool experience to see a miracle take place right in front of me.”

Allen finished sixth overall, securing the last spot on Team USA for the World Athletic Championships in Belgrade, Serbia on March 30. He ran the course in 29:27.0. After briefly falling six seconds behind sixth place, Allen surged through the finish to obtain the last spot on the team.

“We were really excited for Christian to get the opportunity for the trials,” said BYU Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Ed Eyestone. “He was in great shape after his training for the California International Marathon, which set him up in very good cross country shape. During the race, he was always within sight of sixth place for a Team USA spot. He dug in and finished strong. I’m happy for him and his chance to represent Team USA at World’s.”

Allen finished his NCAA Cross Country eligibility in 2022, switching to train for the California International Marathon. He qualified for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials by hitting the Olympic standard of 2:15:01. Allen placed eighth overall in the field of 9,183 runners in the event. He then competed in the trail running circuit through the Fall. Allen also had his third child at the start of January.

Allen will compete in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials in Orlando, Florida on Feb. 3. He will race alongside former Cougars Conner Mantz and Clayton Young who will headline the competition. Race time will be 10 a.m. EST.

BYU swimming sweeps home meet

The BYU women’s swim and dive team churned out five more event wins on its way to defeating Colorado Mesa and Air Force by nearly 200 points at the Richards Building Pool on Saturday.

The Cougars totaled 766 points across two days of competition while Colorado Mesa scored 594 and Air Force 579.

“We didn’t know what we were going to get from our swimmers after two hard weeks of training, but they stepped it up and swam well,” said BYU head swimming coach Shari Skabelund. “I’m so proud of our women for how well they competed.”

Emma Marusakova led all BYU women at the meet with 61 points scored followed by Regan Geldmacher’s 44. Addison Richards and Victoria Schreiber tallied 37 points apiece while 32 points were scored by swimmers Abril Arias and Mackenzie Lung as well as diver Alexia Jackson.

On the men’s side, the Cougars added eight more event wins on its way to defeating Colorado Mesa and Air Force by nearly 300 points at the Richards Building Pool on Saturday.

“We didn’t know what we were going to get from our swimmers after two hard weeks of training, but they stepped it up and swam well,” said BYU head swimming coach Shari Skabelund. “Our men just keep finding all kinds of angles and ways to get better.”

The Cougars totaled 921 points across two days of competition while Colorado Mesa scored 623 and Air Force 375.

Abraham Barragan led all BYU men with 53 points and was one of three to clear the 50. Darwin Anderson and Brad Prolo added 52 and 50, respectively. Jordan Tiffany’s 48 points and Joshua Reed’s 44 rounded out the Cougars’ top-five scorers.

BYU men’s diving finished in places first through third with three personal bests set in the 3-meter (six dives) competition. Mickey Strauss tallied 352.60 points to win the event. Chase Hindmarsh (33.65) and Russell Haws (324.20) finished second and third, respectively, each with a personal best. Carter Davis recorded a personal best 304.30 and took seventh.

“We had a really good, consistent meet with a lot of good dives from a lot of different athletes,” said BYU head diving coach Tyce Routson. “We’re working our way towards being ready for Big 12 Championships.”

After two weeks off, BYU will compete again at the Richards Building Pool in a Senior Day showdown versus rival Utah on Feb. 9-10.

Strong start for BYU women’s tennis

BYU women’s tennis kicked off the season in style, securing three victories in Arizona over the weekend and starting the year 3-0.

The Cougars (3-0, 0-0 Big 12) triumphed over Arizona, Missouri, and Michigan State in matches hosted by the Wildcats on Friday and Saturday. This marked BYU’s first 3-0 start since 2021 when they opened the season with five consecutive victories.

“I couldn’t be happier with our performance this weekend,” said head coach Holly Hasler. “Arizona was a tough battle, and I was worried it wore us out. Turns out, it lit a fire, and we kept fighting harder as the weekend continued. Everyone stepped up at different times to clinch the win when needed. Overall, it was a great team effort, and it’s exciting to see that we are all in and ready for the season.”

The Cougars will next prepare for their Blue vs. White match on Jan. 27, starting at 9:30 am, and is free to the public.