BYU Volleyball falls in conference opener at Pepperdine

Seventh-ranked BYU Men’s Volleyball lost its third consecutive match on Wednesday night, falling to fifth-ranked MPSF foe Pepperdine in straight sets in Malibu (25-17, 25-19, 25-18).

The Cougars won the first point of the first set, but the Waves went on a 7-0 run and the Cougars never got back within reach in the set. The Cougars struggled with the Waves’ service, and the Waves recorded four aces in the first set alone, contributing to the large gap. The Cougars had one ace in the set and two service errors.

The Cougars opened the second set by winning the first two sets, but allowed the Waves a 7-3 run, and the Cougars could not recover. The Waves hit .440 in the set, and the Cougars had no answer for their attack. The Waves had another three sets, while the Cougars had just one themselves and had three service errors.

The third set was not any better for the Cougars, as they went down early and the Waves crashed all over the Cougars, winning the set by a score of 25-18. The Cougars made a late run against the Waves, but the gap was well out of reach by that stage of the set. The Cougars allowed six aces as they fell in the third set, losing their ninth straight set on the season.

Gabi Garcia Fernandez again led the Cougars with 13 kills and 3 blocks on the night. Wil Stanley had 23 assists on the evening, while the Waves recorded 13 aces against the Cougars, a season high against the Cougars.

The Cougars fall to 4-3 on the season and 0-1 in conference play, and have now lost three straight during their month long road trip. All three of their losses have come in southern California, and the Cougars will finish their California trip in Los Angeles against fourth-ranked MPSF rival UCLA on Saturday evening at 7 pm PST.