PROVO — In the third match in as many nights, Tim Dobbert had a feeling his number would be called early and often for the third-ranked BYU men’s volleyball team.

He was ready — and now comes the hard part.

Dobbert recorded a match-high 14 kills and two blocks to help the fourth-ranked Cougars to a 25-23, 25-22, 25-17 sweep Saturday of McKendree for its third-straight win.

“Tim’s able to do that,” BYU coach Shawn Olmstead said. “Tim can play at an even higher level, to be honest; he can compete with (the starters). We were comfortable putting him in, and felt comfortable right from the start.”

Saturday night’s match gave Dobbert, a senior, time to unleash with former roommate and close friend Kiril Meretev, who finished with six kills and three block assists. The European duo (Dobbert is a junior from Germany, while Meretev hails from Bulgaria) hooked up on several plays, including a long rally in the third set that saw Meretev lay out for a pancake dig that ended with a bad set from McKendree (1-5) and a point for BYU.

“We’re the guys that hang out a lot together,” Dobbert said. “We came in the same class, and we’ve been here for four years, took classes together, lived together. Even on the court, it’s amazing to have him there.”

Price Jarman added seven kills and four block assists for the Cougars (4-1), and Leo Durkin distributed 32 assists.

The junior setter will be key to the Cougars’ chase for a repeat Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title, Dobbert said.

“Our setter is amazing,” he added. “Leo gets better every single day; he’s working so hard, especially with me. He found my tempo and my pace right away. It’s different compared to Ben, where he has to go way up high. If I can get the pace, I can hit the ball; it was all Leo.”

Most importantly, the Cougars enter their first match of Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play Thursday at No. 13 Cal State Northridge with a 4-1 record, with the only loss coming at No. 9 Loyola-Chicago in the opening weekend of the regular season.

In the MPSF, nothing is taken for granted. The Matadors are fresh off a sweep of Southern California — just days after the Trojans knocked off then-No. 3 Long Beach State, 3-1.

In other words, all hands on deck, even after an exhausting week.

“I’m sure there are some guys who are a little sore. But the coaches take care of us,” Dobbert said. “We have sensors that help us with our jumps … and we don’t have too many knee problems with it.”

The Cougars know what it takes to put themselves among the best teams in the country. But if they want to advance a game further than last year’s squad that lost to Ohio State in the national championship, they’ll need more than just the starting core.

Dobbert, Meretev and freshman Storm Fa’agata-Tufuga, who had six kills and two aces, are a big part of the next unit that doesn’t always garner the headlines of stars Ben Patch, Brenden Sander and Jake Langlois.

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Ben Patch had a match-high 16 kills with two aces, including setting up match point, and Jake Langlois added 13 kills as No. 4 BYU swept the Eagles, 25-23, 25-17, 26-24 Friday night in the Smith Fieldhouse.

“Our freshmen are really amazing,” Dobbert said. “Storm is already playing, and he’s been playing a lot. He’s been amazing.”

Saturday’s match was a good time to give the second unit additional time — and it passed with flying colors against a Bearcat team that BYU defeated 3-0 last Thursday as well. The Cougars hit .333 with just 12 attack errors on 78 attempts in an exhausting third-straight match of the week.

“We haven’t done that, and I don’t think we are going to do that again this year,” BYU coach Shawn Olmstead said of the back-to-back-to-back stretch. “We talked about coming into matches with energy, whether it’s a win or a tough fight.

“You’ve got to be happy with the guys being able to do that and get after it.”

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