Men’s Volleyball finding their swing

Over the last decade there have been two things more dependable than anything else at BYU, being the No. 1 stone cold sober school in the nation, and having an elite Men’s Volleyball team.

Provo, UT – A high flying Cougar team was brought down low last season as the No. 2 ranked Cougars lost in the Final Four to UCLA ending their hopes of bringing home the national title. That award is something that has eluded the Cougs for quite some time despite consistently being a top five team. In 2016 and 2017 the Cougars lost to Ohio State in the National Championship 3-0. Regardless of the big losses that seem to plague BYU every year, let’s look at the big picture.

BYU is there every year. If that doesn’t spell dynasty, then I don’t know what does.

BYU is known for their solid hitting and great outside play and this year that continues in dramatic fashion with the one-two punch of Gabi Garcia Fernandez and Davide Gardini. A sophomore and freshman respectively have carried the kill load this year averaging 4.25 and 3.49 kill/set. Gardini has been named National Freshman of the Week 3 times this season already. While Gardini’s counterpart, Fernandez, was nominated for the February National Player of the Month. Rounding out the rest of the major attack force for the Cougar’s is Miki Jauhiainen and Felipe de Brito Ferr. The big guys in the middle are some of the best blockers in the nation with Jauhiainen averaging 1.19 blocks/set.

The best number that no one can compete against BYU is in home attendance. This year the Cougars are 8-1 at home and 2-5 on the road. In the 9 home games, BYU has an average of 3,266, while the on the road the opponents average is 731. And you can bet that a lot of those are BYU fans as well. The Smith Fieldhouse really rocks on a Friday night when the Cougs are in town. A big reason for high attendance is the competition that BYU plays is the best in the country with the likes of Stanford, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, and UCLA.

BYU has recovered from one of their worst starts in recent memory where they lost four in a row on a California road trip after winning their first four. Yet as the Cougars are finding good footing, they still need some key kills to sweep aside the competition to reach their ultimate goal.

Next Matches

BYU Invitational hosted at Smith Fieldhouse

March 21 Princeton Tigers                        7 PM MST

March 22 McKendree Bearcats                7 PM MST

March 23 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors        7 PM MST