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BYU’s Teon Taylor hits the ball over the net during an NCAA men’s volleyball match against the Stanford Cardinals at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse at BYU in Provo on Friday, April 4, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
No. 7 BYU took care of business for the second night in a row over No. 12 Stanford, beating the Cardinal in four sets Friday night at the Smith Fieldhouse.
The Cougars won on set scores of 25-23, 20-25, 25-23 and 25-17.
The victory keeps Stanford winless over the Cougars in Provo in nearly a decade, with the Cardinal picking up its last win against BYU in the Smith Fieldhouse in 2016.
“Sometimes you got to (win ugly),” BYU senior middle blocker Teon Taylor said. “I love our team. We’re so deep. Whoever needs to come in can come in and win ugly.
“That’s what we had to do tonight.”
It didn’t start ugly for the Cougars. Stanford had little answer for BYU in the initial stages of the first set as the Cougars took a 13-7 lead before the Cardinal made a furious comeback to tie things up at 17.
BYU held strong though, regaining its advantage and keeping just enough distance from Stanford to eke out a two-point set win.
“We tried our best to just tell the guys, ‘Hey, be assertive. … (Don’t) pull back (and) get tentative,’” BYU coach Shawn Olmstead said, “and tonight they didn’t. They took big swings down the stretch that we needed.”
The second set went back and forth before Stanford scored four straight points and took a 19-15 lead that ultimately propelled the Cardinal to the set win.
BYU couldn’t get going, finishing the set with just seven kills compared to Stanford’s 15. The win held some extra significance for the Cardinal, snapping its streak of nine straight set losses to the Cougars in the Smith Fieldhouse.
BYU held on for another tight victory in the third set, thanks in large part to Stanford’s mistakes down the stretch. The Cougars’ last five points came from Stanford service errors, and the Cardinal finished the set with nine.
BYU never trailed in the third but never led by more than four points.
“Our team got bailed out a handful of times tonight,” Olmstead said. “If the ball was in (more), I would bet we would still be playing right now.”
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BYU’s Lucas Torres serves the ball during an NCAA men’s volleyball match against the Stanford Cardinals at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse at BYU in Provo on Friday, April 4, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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BYU fans cheer during an NCAA men’s volleyball match against the Stanford Cardinals at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse at BYU in Provo on Friday, April 4, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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BYU’s Gavin Chambers falls during an NCAA men’s volleyball match against the Stanford Cardinals at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse at BYU in Provo on Friday, April 4, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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BYU Cougars mascot Cosmo cheers with fans during an NCAA men’s volleyball match against the Stanford Cardinals at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse at BYU in Provo on Friday, April 4, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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BYU fans cheer during an NCAA men’s volleyball match against the Stanford Cardinals at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse at BYU in Provo on Friday, April 4, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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BYU’s Gavin Chambers gets the ball over the net during an NCAA men’s volleyball match against the Stanford Cardinals at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse at BYU in Provo on Friday, April 4, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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Stanford Cardinals players celebrate after scoring during an NCAA men’s volleyball match against the BYU Cougars at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse at BYU in Provo on Friday, April 4, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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Stanford Cardinals players celebrate after they score during an NCAA men’s volleyball match against the BYU Cougars at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse at BYU in Provo on Friday, April 4, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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BYU’s Teon Taylor hits the ball over the net during an NCAA men’s volleyball match against the Stanford Cardinals at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse at BYU in Provo on Friday, April 4, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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BYU’s Tyler Herget celebrates with teammates after BYU scored during an NCAA men’s volleyball match against the Stanford Cardinals at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse at BYU in Provo on Friday, April 4, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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BYU’s Cole Hauser smiles after scoring during an NCAA men’s volleyball match against the Stanford Cardinals at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse at BYU in Provo on Friday, April 4, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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A BYU fan watches an NCAA men’s volleyball match against the Stanford Cardinals at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse at BYU in Provo on Friday, April 4, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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BYU’s Gavin Chambers cheers with teammates before competing in an NCAA men’s volleyball match against the Stanford Cardinals at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse at BYU in Provo on Friday, April 4, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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BYU’s Tyler Herget, Teon Taylor and Miks Ramanis, from left, go to hit the ball during an NCAA men’s volleyball match against the Stanford Cardinals at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse at BYU in Provo on Friday, April 4, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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BYU’s Luke Benson serves the ball during an NCAA men’s volleyball match against the Stanford Cardinals at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse at BYU in Provo on Friday, April 4, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
The Cougars left no doubt in the final set. An early 8-1 run by BYU all but ended the match, keeping the Cougars in control throughout the set.
They only extended their lead from there, earning a decisive set victory for the first time on the night after putting on a dominant performance in a sweep over the Cardinal the day before.
“I don’t know a match (like tonight) where we truly … had to win ugly,” Olmstead said after inserting 11 players Friday to try to find the right rotation.
“(It) just was not going our way… It was a team effort. We had to have everybody.”
BYU was led by Taylor, who stuffed the scorecard with a career high 10 kills on no errors and a .714 hitting percentage. The Las Vegas native also had two blocks, one service ace and a dig.
“I just … trust the coaches,” Taylor said when asked about his career night. “(I) just do what I got to do.”
Olmstead and his staff continue to look for ways to get the ball in front of the ever-efficient Taylor, and the BYU coach couldn’t stop praising his starting middle blocker following the match.
“He’s playing … like an All-American,” Olmstead said. “He’s been doing that every single weekend.”
BYU will need an All-American type effort when it faces arguably its toughest test of the season next weekend. The Cougars will travel to southern California to face two-time defending national champion and No. 2 ranked UCLA in a pair of matches beginning Friday and concluding Saturday evening.
The Cougars and Bruins split their two matches a season ago, with each going all five sets.
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