Sikes, defense looking up for No. 3 BYU men's volleyball team


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PROVO — The third-ranked BYU men's volleyball team had high expectations entering the season, with a front line that could hit at an enormous rate and the return of outside hitter Brenden Sander, middle hitter Michael Hatch and opposite Ben Patch.

But the key to the Cougars' success, as they've learned through a 4-2 opening month of the season, has been away from the net.

"The first thing we tell them is that serve and serve-receive are the two most important skills in volleyball," said BYU assistant coach Jaylen Reyes, the Cougars' starting libero a year ago. "That's motivation enough to get better, especially at passing."

In that regard, No. 3 BYU hopes to accelerate its improvement even further when it travels to No. 9 UC Irvine for a pair of matches Friday and Saturday.

In that regard, BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead knew his team needed to be better. Aside from replacing Reyes from the team, the Cougars were also introducing a new setter and new back-line elements, including sophomore Erik Sikes in a return from a torn anterior cruciate ligament as a freshman.

So far, so good.

"We've gotten better, but we've got to get better at that," said Olmstead, who won a national championship with BYU as a libero. "It's still about power, but we've got to be able to pass. I've always said that, and never shied away from it. You still have to be able to pass, to control the serve; those are the fundamentals of volleyball."

Sikes had his best game of his young career last weekend in a split at No. 2 Long Beach State, when he dug a career-high 13 digs and dished out five assists in Friday's 3-1 victory. He also has 12 serve receives, another team-high.

Courtesy: BYU Photo
Courtesy: BYU Photo

Most importantly, the game is slowing down for the defensive specialist who hadn't started a match since his senior year in California before three weeks ago against Loyola-Chicago.

"I was not prepared for how fast they were going to serve," said Sikes, who averages a team-best 2.10 digs per set. "It wasn't just speed; it was how far away it was from me. I felt like I was diving everywhere, and I was out of breath. I did not remember the ball being that fast. People were ripping their serves, and they were tough to control.

"But each week, I've gotten more acclimated to each server and taking control of the seams."

A big reason for the improvement is the man he replaced. Reyes put up All-American caliber numbers at BYU as a nationally recognizable libero — and Sikes knew exactly what he would be tasked to replace after the then-senior had graduated.

"When I committed, I watched Jaylen and I was friends with Brenden," Sikes said. "I knew he was really good, so I'm just trying to do what he did. I'm trying to step up my game defensively, as well.

"I definitely know I had to step up and try to be like Jaylen, the senior who was leaving."

Reyes said he recognized Sikes' abilities as soon as he stepped into the gym during BYU's short preseason a year ago.

"Last year, when I first saw him play, I was wondering if I'd get to play my last year," Reyes joked. "I thought he was really good coming out of high school, and he was adjusting to the college game really nicely."

Reyes also noted Sikes' improvement has come on the heels of limited practice time because of last season's knee surgery. The sophomore admits he hasn't put together his best game, comparable to what he thought he could do coming out of high school.

And his coach seems to agree — but he's also noticing a rapid rate of improvement for a guy who only spent one week with the team during the preseason, then came back to start game prep for MPSF play.

"He's seeing the game better. The longer you play, the slower everything seems," Reyes said. "My freshman year, everything was super fast. By my senior year, we were playing the same guys, but because I had played for so long things were slowing down.

"I think things are starting to slow down for him. It's making him more confident."

The steady improvement in passing and serving could have BYU — still a top-three team nationally — ready to accomplish big goals, both in the MPSF and on an NCAA-wide scale.

"I feel like I haven't really shown my abilities in each match yet. I have a lot of limitations," Sikes said. "But each week, I'm getting more and more flexible and now I am starting to do it again. It's a tough job to replace, but hopefully I'm getting better."

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