PROVO, Utah — No. 9 BYU men’s volleyball plays No. 8 Stanford twice this week, Thursday in Provo and Saturday in California, in a top-10 clash between MPSF foes.
No. 9 BYU (7-4, 3-2 MPSF)
The Cougars came back from an eight-point deficit in the fourth set to defeat Grand Canyon at home in the Smith Fieldhouse last week to get their third-straight win in MPSF play.
Junior middle blocker Miki Jauhiainen was named Off the Block’s Defensive Player of the Night on Saturday for his career-high nine blocks against the Lopes. He is currently second in the MPSF in blocks with 1.19 per set.
Sophomore opposite hitter Gabi Garcia Fernandez continued his dominant offensive streak with his seventh consecutive match in double-figure kills and third 20-kill performance of the season, tallying 20 successful attacks against GCU. He leads the MPSF and is second in the nation in kills with 4.59 per set.
Storm Fa’agata-Tufuga had his best all-around performance for the Cougars this season, coming off the bench for six kills, five digs and three blocks.
As a team, the Cougars continue to show strength on the defensive end, leading the MPSF in blocks with 2.47 per set and ranking second in opponent hitting percentage at .239.
No. 8 Stanford (11-5, 3-2 MPSF)
The Cardinal is coming off of back-to-back sweeps over UC San Diego and Grand Canyon, extending the team’s current win streak to four matches.
BYU leads the overall series 36-21, including victories in the last six meetings.
The Cardinal leads the MPSF in Player of the Week awards with six on the season, including two each for opposite hitter Jaylen Jasper and libero Kyle Dagostino. Jasper currently ranks second in the MPSF in kills with 4.04 per set and Dagostino ranks second in digs with 2.11 per set.
The other two player of the week awards went to outside hitter Jordan Ewert, who currently ranks in the top 10 in both kills and digs in the MPSF, and setter Paul Bischoff, who leads the MPSF in assists with 10.53 per set.
BYU edges Stanford out on the defensive end with .239-.260 and 2.5-2.1 leads in opponent hitting percentage and blocks per set, respectively. The Cardinal has the offensive stats to match, however, with 13.1-11.5 and .328-.306 leads in kills per set and hitting percentage, respectively.
The match in Provo will be broadcast live on BYUtv and the match at Stanford will be streamed live on the Pac-12 Network. Links for live stats can be found on the schedule page.