This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The BYU men's volleyball team is firing on all cylinders.
On Saturday, in their final regular-season match, the No. 1-ranked Cougars team swept No. 8 Stanford (30-28, 25-18, 25-21) on its own court and are now ready for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament as the top seed.
"Stanford is a wonderful team with great players and is well-coached," BYU coach Chris McGown said. "For us to win in three sets at Stanford is pretty remarkable. We went in there with focus and energy."
BYU (21-4, 20-3 MPSF) has been ranked No. 1 for seven weeks, claiming the MPSF regular season title three weeks ago.
Against Stanford, freshman Ben Patch led the attack with 14 kills, with seven coming in the first set. He added six digs.
Juniors Devin Young and Taylor Sander joined Patch in double figures with 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Sander contributed two aces, six digs and three blocks.
"The boys did a nice job tonight," McGown said. "It's hard being on the road and having to travel and all that goes with that, and to continue to be energetic night after night. We hung in there when times got tough in the first set and kept battling. That's been the story of this team, we keep battling and find ways to win."
The Cougars return to the Smith Fieldhouse for their MPSF quarterfinal match Saturday at 7 p.m. MDT. The match will be broadcast live on BYUtv.