PROVO — In the final match between BYU and UC San Diego as rivals in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, the Cougars showed off a glimpse of the future.

But one senior tandem stood above the rest.

Jake Langlois had 17 kills, and Leo Durkin dished out 33 assists to lift No. 3 BYU men’s volleyball to a 25-21, 26-24, 25-23 sweep of the Tritons to cap a 41-match win streak in the series Thursday night in the Smith Fieldhouse.

“Jake did a great job. He had to carry a pretty harsh load, and we put him in a funky position in the third set that he isn’t comfortable playing,” BYU coach Shawn Olmstead said. “But we wanted to get a look at that, and it was good to see it.”

Storm Fa’agata-Tufuga had a career-high 10 kills, five digs and two aces for BYU (11-3, 6-1 MPSF), and Tim Dobbert finished with eight kills and three digs.

Tanner Syftestad led UC San Diego (5-8, 2-7 MPSF) with 13 kills and four digs.

“It was really fun,” said Fa’agata-Tufuga, a freshman who earned his seventh start of the year. “I’m just glad I got to play a key role with the team.”

The Cougars started the match without pin hitters Ben Patch or Brenden Sander, as well as libero Eric Sikes. After the Tritons jumped out to a 3-1 advantage, Langlois tied the set at 12-12, then gave BYU its first lead of the night with a block to go up 14-13.

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Fa’agata-Tufuga has started five of the Cougars’ first seven matches of the season, and he could be in play against as the No. 3 BYU (6-1, 2-0 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) hosts No. 7 UC Irvine (6-2, 3-2 MPSF) for a pair of matches Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. MT in the Smith Fieldhouse.

The Cougars never trailed again in the set. Fa’agata-Tufuga forced set point, and Tim Dobbert tallied his fifth kill of the set to give BYU a 1-0 advantage, 25-21.

“You’ve got to find a good balance,” Olmstead said. “We want these guys to understand and get confidence and faith in what they are doing … in matches, when the opportunity is there.

“It’s not the end of the world that they have to battle and go through those moments. But it is a fine line … and right now we want to find those moments.”

Again, BYU struggled early in the second set. Tanner Syftestad recorded back-to-back aces, and the Tritons jumped out to a 5-3 lead.

The Cougars never completely went away, though. Freshman Wil Stanley tied the match at 18-18 with an ace immediately after checking in, and Miki Jauhiainen gave BYU a 23-22 lead with an ace just a few minutes later.

Langlois recorded back-to-back kills to give the Cougars an extra-point win, 26-24, in the second set.

BYU raced out to a 10-5 lead in the third set, and Olmstead began to insert his freshman talent. Stanley moved over to setter while Durkin sat, and freshman Zach Eschenberg recorded his first career kill as the young Cougars attempted to put away San Diego, 24-20.

“I always like to be helpful and inspiring, especially to those (young players) who are coming onto the court,” Fa’agata-Tufuga said. “Zach was playing in his first set, so he was nervous a little, and I tried to give him confidence that he can play up to this level.”

The Tritons rallied for three-straight kills in the end of the third set, and Olmstead relied on his veterans to finish off the match. Langlois put down a perfect set by Durkin, and the Cougars took a 25-23 victory to finish the sweep.

“The team scraps, and they’ve got guys with good arms and a few good servers that can get you in trouble,” Olmstead said. “And they have a very good opposite.

“We played a bunch of guys in new roles and positions … and it’s OK to go through that a little.”

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