The BYU men’s volleyball team, ranked No. 10, secured a sweep over Vanguard on Friday night, April 3, in Costa Mesa, California. The win completed a weekend series sweep and improved the Cougars’ overall record to 19-8 and their Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) record to 6-4.
This victory was notable as it marked head coach Shawn Olmstead’s 206th career win, surpassing his former coach and mentor Carl McGown for the most wins in program history. McGown previously held the record with 205 wins in 336 matches; Olmstead reached his milestone in just 290 matches.
Trevor Herget led BYU with ten kills, one assist, two aces, six digs, and a career-high five blocks. Connor Oldani contributed eight kills along with two aces and one dig. AJ Cottle added six kills and eight blocks—his second-highest total this season—while Ian Little started the match recording personal bests of eight digs and four blocks. The Cougars posted a .287 hitting percentage compared to Vanguard’s .070.
In set play, BYU took control after early ties in the first set to secure a 25-20 win with key plays from Herget, Cole Hauser (ace), and Cottle. The second set saw an early lead established by Cottle’s blocking efforts; Herget closed out the set at 25-18 with his fourth block of the night. In the third set, BYU jumped ahead but faced resistance as Vanguard tied it at 14-14 before Herget’s kill and ace helped regain momentum leading to another 25-20 finish sealed by an Oldani ace.
Looking ahead, BYU will return home to Smith Fieldhouse next weekend for its final regular-season matches against No. 4 USC.
