No. 1 Long Beach State exacts revenge with sweep of No. 3 BYU in volleyball


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PROVO — No. 3 BYU men’s volleyball ended top-ranked Long Beach State’s 14-match winning streak Friday night with a home upset.

It was the 49ers’ turn to do the same thing Saturday.

T.J. DeFalco posted a match-high 13 kills, and Kyle Ensing added 10 more in an other-worldly hitting night to help No. 1 Long Beach State exact revenge on No. 3 BYU with a 25-21, 25-22, 25-21 sweep Saturday night in front of 5,783 fans in the Smith Fieldhouse.

The total attendance is just 300 off the all-time volleyball record of 6,119 set against UCLA in 2001.

Jake Langlois led BYU (21-3, 14-2 MPSF) with 10 kills and five digs, and Ben Patch made his return to the court with seven kills, four digs and two blocks.

Long Beach (22-3, 15-2 MPSF) started hot, hitting .625 with 15 kills on 25 attempts and no errors in the opening set. Ensing’s ace paced a 6-1 run that put the 49ers in control 21-6 before BYU rallied with three-straight kills. The 49ers hit .477 on the night, counteracting a poor service night with 21 errors.

“I think it’s really important to recognize when you can play at that level, and they did it, they deserve the credit,” BYU coach Shawn Olmstead said. “You don’t want to take anything away from them. When I saw the numbers in front of me, it was pretty remarkable and flawless offensively essentially throughout the entire match.”

Seniors (L-R) Joseph Grosh, Jake Langlois and Kiril Meretev wave to the crowd after being honored prior to the match. The #3 BYU Men's Volleyball Team played #1 Long Beach State at the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday night in Provo, Utah. March 25, 2017. (Photo by Jaren Wilkey/BYU © BYU PHOTO 2017 All Rights Reserved)
Seniors (L-R) Joseph Grosh, Jake Langlois and Kiril Meretev wave to the crowd after being honored prior to the match. The #3 BYU Men's Volleyball Team played #1 Long Beach State at the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday night in Provo, Utah. March 25, 2017. (Photo by Jaren Wilkey/BYU © BYU PHOTO 2017 All Rights Reserved)

DeFalco stopped the run with an off-balance kill from the left side, and the visitors forced a sideout to take the opening set 25-21.

The 49ers continued their otherworldly hitting in the second set, hitting a .484 attack percentage with just three errors. DeFalco laid down his 12th kill of the match, and Bryce Yould scored moments later to put Long Beach State up 23-20.

Yould’s block gave the 49ers their second set point opportunity of the night at 24-21, and Ensing gave the visitors a 2-0 lead at the break after falling in five sets just 24 hours earlier.

“I don’t think they did much differently; they were doing things we talked about in our scouting report. They were just a little bit better, and at times, we tried to overdo it ourselves. That’s where nets and other errors came into play.

“But I don’t think they did anything much better. They just played a lot cleaner,” Olmstead said.

Patch brought the energy in the third set, and BYU took an 8-7 lead on back-to-back kills by Jake Langlois. Brenden Sander drilled a back-row kill after a stunning pass from Patch, and the Cougars used a 6-0 run to take an 11-7 advantage.

But the 49ers entered the week as the top-ranked team in the country, and used a 7-2 run to take back the lead, 14-13. DeFalco pulled the Beach back in front 19-16 with his 13th kill of the match, and Ensing forced match point with a kill that dropped to the floor just off the centerline at 24-20.

Sander spiked eight kills with five digs, but the Cougars hit just .303 and served 11 errors with just one ace in their first loss in straight sets at home since 2012.

“I think they’ll do well; they’ll respond,” Olmstead said. “They understand what they need to do to be able to (rebound).”

BYU ends the regular season April 6-7 with a pair of MPSF matchs at UC Santa Barbara. Long Beach State will face Concordia Irvine in a non-conference match next week, followed by the season finale against Cal State Northridge on April 8.

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