#5 Russell Lavaja, position: middle blocker, height: 6-7 year: sophomore, hometown: St. Charles, IL, last school: St. Charles North, major: ?
SOPHOMORE - (2009–2010):
  • Played in 114-of-119 sets on the season
  • Started in all but two matches as a middle blocker
  • Led the team in blocks in nine matches
  • Led the Cougars in seven matches in service aces
  • Tallied 216 kills, 1.89 k/s, 387 attempts, .398 hitting percentage, 26 assists
  • Led the team with 25 service aces, 17 solo blocks, 148 blocking assists and 165 total blocks
  • His 165 total blocks place him fourth on the BYU all-time rally scoring record list
  • Earned honorable mention All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation honors
  • Eelped the Cougars set a new team single-season record for total blocks with 423, 19.5 more than the previous record set in 2009
  • Helped rank the team No. 1 in the NCAA and the MPSF in blocks per set with 3.55, while kills per game ranked them No. 4 in the Nation with 15.80 earned Academic All-MPSF
  • Earned a career-high 15 kills and 23 attempts against Stanford on 1/23/10
  • Earned a career-high .714 hitting percentage (min. 9 att.) against Pepperdine on 3/5/10
  • Posted a career-high six digs against UCLA on 1/8/10
  • Tallied a career-high 11 blocking assists against UCLA on 1/30/10, also earning a career-high on total blocks (11)
  • Had a career-high four service aces against USC on 3/19/10
  • Chalked up a career-high three assists against St. Francis
FRESHMAN - (2008–2009):
  • Played in 28 of the team's 30 matches on the season and saw action in 97 sets on the year
  • Started 23 matches for the Cougars
  • Hit 152 kills on the season, averaging 1.57 per set
  • Recorded 13 service aces, including three against Pepperdine on April 16
  • Finished second on the team with 138 blocks
  • Had a season-high 10 blocks against Stanford on April 10
  • Knocked down 13 kills against both USC (Feb. 7) and Cal State Northridge (April 25)
  • Ranked seventh nationally in blocks per set
BEFORE BYU:
  • Attended St. Charles North HS and played for Brad Mitchell
  • Unanimous all-conference honorable mention
  • Played for the Sports Performance club team under Cheryl Butler
  • 2007 A2 National team
PERSONAL:
  • Parents are Russ and Susan Lavaja
  • One brother, Ryan
  • Sports hero is Michael Jordan
  • Non-sports hero is his father
  • Recruited by George Mason and Hawaii
  • Competed with the U.S. Junior National Team at the 2009 FIVB World Championships in India
YEAR G K K/G E TA PCT A SA SE SA/G RE D D/G BS BA TOT B/G
2009 92 160 1.74 56 318 0.327 20 12 78 0.13 1 26 0.28 15 132 147 1.6
2010 114 216 1.89 62 387 0.389 26 25 126 0.22 4 51 0.45 17 148 165 1.45
Total 206 376 1.83 118 705 0.363 46 37 204 0.18 5 77 0.37 32 280 312 1.53
  • Kills: 13 (two times)
  • Attempts: 22 vs. USC, 2/7/09
  • Digs: 4 (two times)
  • Block Assists: 10 vs. Stanford, 4/10/09
  • Block Solos: 4 vs. Stanford, 4/9/09
  • Total Blocks: 10 vs. Stanford, 4/10/09
  • Service Aces: 3 vs. Pepperdine, 4/16/09
  • Assists: 2 (three times)
Roster
2011 Information
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