2021 BYU Cougars men's volleyball team

2021 BYU Cougars men's volleyball
NCAA Tournament, National Runner-Up
ConferenceMountain Pacific Sports Federation
Record20-4 (17-3 MPSF)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Devin Young[1] (3rd season)
  • Micah Naone[2] (3rd season)
Home arenaSmith Fieldhouse
Seasons
← 2020
2022 →

The 2021 BYU Cougars men's volleyball team represented Brigham Young University in the 2021 NCAA Division I & II men's volleyball season. The Cougars, led by sixth year head coach Shawn Olmstead, play their home games at Smith Fieldhouse.[3] The Cougars are members of the MPSF and were picked to win the MPSF in the preseason poll.[4] After finishing last season ranked #1[5] the Cougars enter the 2021 season with the #1 ranking.[6]

2021 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation volleyball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 2 BYU  ‍†‍‡‍y 17 – 3   .850 20 – 4   .833
No. 6 UCLA  ‍‍‍ 14 – 5   .737 15 – 6   .714
No. 5 Pepperdine  ‍‍‍y 11 – 5   .688 13 – 7   .650
No. 9 Grand Canyon  ‍‍‍ 8 – 10   .444 9 – 11   .450
USC  ‍‍‍ 5 – 12   .294 5 – 13   .278
Concordia Irvine  ‍‍‍ 3 – 13   .188 3 – 14   .176
Stanford  ‍‍‍ 3 – 13   .188 3 – 14   .176
† – Conference champion
‡ – 2021 MPSF Tournament champion

Season highlights

  • Will be filled in as the season progresses.

Roster

2021 BYU Cougars roster[7]
 

Defensive specialist/libero

  • 4 Jon Stanley - Sophomore
  • 6 Zach Hendrickson - Senior
  • 12 Mitchel Worthington - Junior

Middle blockers

  • 10 Gavin Julien - Sophomore
  • 16 Felipe de Brito Ferreira - Senior
  • 17 Branden Oberender - Redshirt Junior
  • 18 Miki Jauhiainen - Graduate
  • 21 Max Pothier - Redshirt Freshman
  

Outside hitters

  • 1 Davide Gardini - Junior
  • 4 Jon Stanley - Sophomore
  • 7 Cyrus Fa'alogo - Redshirt Senior
  • 9 Andrew Lincoln - Senior
  • 11 Zach Eschenberg - Graduate
  • 13 Kana'i Akana - Redshirt Sophomore
  • 20 Teilon-Jonathan Tufuga - Sophomore
  

Opposite hitters

  • 2 Alex Ah Sue - Junior
  • 5 Gabi Garcia Fernandez - Senior

Setters

  • 3 Wil Stanley - Graduate
  • 23 Gavin Heap - Redshirt Freshman
  • 24 Brody Earnest - Junior
  

Schedule

TV/Internet Streaming information:

All home games will be televised on BYUtv. All road games will also be streamed by the schools streaming service. The conference tournament will be streamed by FloVolleyball. The NCAA Tournament will be streamed on B1G+ (opening round, quarterfinals), NCAA.com (semifinals), and the Championship will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
Date
time 		Opponent Rank
(tournament seed) 		Arena
city
(tournament) 		Television Score Attendance Record
(MPSF record)
2/4
7 p.m. 		#8 UCLA* #1 Smith Fieldhouse
Provo, UT 		BYUtv L 1–3
(22–25, 21–25, 25–15, 22–25)[8] 		150 0–1
(0–1)
2/6
4 p.m. 		#8 UCLA* #1 Smith Fieldhouse
Provo, UT 		BYUtv W 3–0
(25–16, 25–21, 25–17)[9] 		150 1–1
(1–1)
2/12
7 p.m. 		#7 Pepperdine* #1 Smith Fieldhouse
Provo, UT 		BYUtv W 3–0
(25–6, 25–23, 28–26)[10] 		150 2–1
(2–1)
2/13
7 p.m. 		#7 Pepperdine* #1 Smith Fieldhouse
Provo, UT 		BYUtv W 3–1
(23–25, 28–26, 25–23, 26–24)[11] 		150 3–1
(3–1)
2/18
7 p.m. 		#10 Grand Canyon* #1 Smith Fieldhouse
Provo, UT 		BYUtv.org W 3–1
(26–24, 23–25, 25–18, 25–20)[12] 		150 4–1
(4–1)
2/20
7 p.m. 		#10 Grand Canyon* #1 Smith Fieldhouse
Provo, UT 		BYUtv W 3–2
(25–27, 28–26, 23–25, 25–23, 15–11)[13] 		159 5–1
(5–1)
2/25
6 p.m. 		@ #9 Grand Canyon* #1 GCU Arena
Phoenix, AZ 		GCU TV L 0–3
(22–25, 43–45, 10–25) 		576 5–2
(5–2)
2/27
12 p.m. 		@ #9 Grand Canyon* #1 GCU Arena
Phoenix, AZ 		GCU TV W 3–0
(25–19, 25–19, 25–13)[14] 		N/A 6–2
(6–2)
3/4
8 p.m. 		@ Concordia Irvine* #2 CU Arena
Irvine, CA 		Eagle TV on Stretch Internet W 3–0
(25–20, 25–19, 25–19) 		0 7–2
(7–2)
3/5
6 p.m. 		@ USC* #2 Galen Center
Los Angeles, CA 		P12+ USC W 3–0
(25–22, 25–20, 25–20) 		0 8–2
(8–2)
3/12
7 p.m. 		Stanford* #2 Smith Fieldhouse
Provo, UT 		BYUtv W 3–0
(25–16, 25–15, 25–16)[15] 		500 9–2
(9–2)
3/13
7 p.m. 		Stanford* #2 Smith Fieldhouse
Provo, UT 		BYUtv W 3–0
(25–19, 25–22, 25–19)[16] 		500 10–2
(10–2)
3/19
2 p.m. 		@ #4 Pepperdine* #2 Firestone Fieldhouse
Malibu, CA 		WaveCasts W 3–1
(20–25, 25–17, 25–21, 25–17) 		0 11–2
(11–2)
3/20
2 p.m. 		@ #4 Pepperdine* #2 Firestone Fieldhouse
Malibu, CA 		WaveCasts W 3–0
(25–21, 25–14, 25–20)[17] 		0 12–2
(12–2)
3/26
8 p.m. 		@ Concordia Irvine* #2 CU Arena
Irvine, CA 		Eagle TV on Stretch Internet W 3–0
(25–19, 25–20, 25–23)[18] 		0 13–2
(13–2)
3/27
8 p.m. 		@ Concorida Irvine* #2 CU Arena
Irvine, CA 		Eagle TV on Stretch Internet W 3–0
(25–22, 25–17, 25–16) 		0 14–2
(14–2)
4/1
7 p.m. 		USC* #2 Smith Fieldhouse
Provo, UT 		BYUtv W 3–0
(25–22, 25–18, 25–16)[19] 		500 15–2
(15–2)
4/2
7 p.m. 		USC* #2 Smith Fieldhouse
Provo, UT 		BYUtv W 3–1
(25–19, 25–21, 24–26, 25–20)[20] 		500 16–2
(16–2)
4/9
6 p.m. 		@ #6 UCLA* #2 Pauley Pavilion
Los Angeles, CA 		P12+ UCLA W 3–0
(25–19, 25–16, 25–17)[21] 		0 17–2
(17–2)
4/10
6 p.m. 		@ #6 UCLA* #2 Pauley Pavilion
Los Angeles, CA 		P12+ UCLA L 1–3
(18–25, 25–21, 25–27, 15–25) 		0 17–3
(17–3)
4/23
7 p.m. 		#9 (4) Grand Canyon #2
(1) 		Smith Fieldhouse
Provo, UT
(MPSF Semifinal) 		FloVolleyball W 3–0
(25–14, 25–19, 29–27) 		700 18–3
(17–3)
4/23
7 p.m. 		#5 (3) Pepperdine #2
(1) 		Smith Fieldhouse
Provo, UT
(MPSF Championship) 		FloVolleyball W 3–0
(25–23, 25–15, 25–19) 		750 19–3
(17–3)
5/6
6 p.m. 		#4 Lewis #2
(2) 		Covelli Center
Columbus, OH
(NCAA Semifinal) 		NCAA.com W 3–1
(25–22, 25–15, 26–28, 25–20) 		275 20–3
5/6
6 p.m. 		#1 Hawai'i
(1) 		#2
(2) 		Covelli Center
Columbus, OH
(NCAA Championship) 		ESPNU L 0–3
(21–25, 19–25, 16–25) 		345 20–4
*-Indicates conference match.
Times listed are Mountain Time Zone.

Announcers for televised games

  • UCLA: Jarom Jordan & Steve Vail
  • UCLA: Jarom Jordan & Steve Vail
  • Pepperdine: Jarom Jordan & Steve Vail
  • Pepperdine: Jarom Jordan & Steve Vail
  • Grand Canyon: Jarom Jordan & Steve Vail
  • Grand Canyon: Jarom Jordan & Steve Vail
  • Grand Canyon: Kyle Borg & Diana Johnson
  • Grand Canyon: Kyle Borg & Diana Johnson
  • Concordia Irvine: Viola Patience O'Neal
  • USC: Mark Beltran & Paul Duchesne
  • Stanford: Jarom Jordan & Steve Vail
  • Stanford: Jarom Jordan & Steve Vail
  • Pepperdine: Al Epstein
  • Pepperdine: Al Epstein
  • Concordia Irvine: Viola Patience O'Neal
  • Concordia Irvine: Anthony Calderon
  • USC: Jarom Jordan & Steve Vail
  • USC: Jarom Jordan & Steve Vail
  • UCLA: Denny Cline
  • UCLA: Denny Cline
  • Grand Canyon: Jarom Jordan & Steve Vail
  • Pepperdine: Jarom Jordan & Steve Vail
  • Lewis: Paul Sunderland & Kevin Barnett
  • Hawai'i: Paul Sunderland & Kevin Barnett

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AVCA Coaches1 (14)[22]1 (14)[23]1 (13)[24]1 (8)[25]1 (13)[26]1 (13)[27]2 (1)[28]2 (1)[29]2 (1)[30]2 (1)[31]2 (1)[32]2 (1)[33]2 (1)[34]2 (1)[35]2 (5)[36]2
Off the Block Media1^1 (9)[37]1 (10)[38]2 (4)[39]1т (5)[40]2 (5)[41]2[42]3[43]2[44]2[45]2[46]2[47]2[48]2^2^2

^The Media did not release a Pre-season, Week 13, or Week 14 poll.

References

See also: 2020 BYU Cougars football team, 2020–21 BYU Cougars men's basketball team, 2020–21 BYU Cougars women's basketball team, 2020–21 BYU Cougars women's soccer team, 2020–21 BYU Cougars women's volleyball team, 2021 BYU Cougars baseball team, and 2021 BYU Cougars softball team
  1. ^ "BYU Round Out Staff with Former Cougar Devin Young". Volley Mob. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  2. ^ "BYU Adds Micah Noone to the staff for 2019". Volley Mob. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  3. ^ "Olmstead siblings named head BYU volleyball coaches". Utah Valley 360. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  4. ^ "Cougars No. 1 in preseason MPSF volleyball poll". Daily Herald. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  5. ^ "NCAA cancels March Madness and spring sports championships. Utah, BYU, USU all on hiatus". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  6. ^ "BYU Men's Volleyball Ranked No. 1 In 2021 Preseason Rankings". KSL. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  7. ^ "2021 Men's Volleyball Roster - The Official Site of BYU Athletics".
  8. ^ "No. 8 UCLA dominates top ranked BYU men's volleyball in home opener". Daily Herald. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  9. ^ "Cougars return to form with sweep of UCLA". Daily Herald. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  10. ^ "No. 1 BYU men's volleyball proves a point with sweep of No. 7 Pepperdine". Universe Sports. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  11. ^ "No. 1 BYU men's volleyball beats No. 7 Pepperdine in tough matchup with two overtime sets". Universe Sports. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  12. ^ "Top ranked BYU men's volleyball earns 3-1 win vs. Grand Canyon". Daily Herald. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  13. ^ "Cougar men's volleyball outlasts Grand Canyon". Daily Herald. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  14. ^ "Men's volleyball sweeps Grand Canyon". Daily Herald. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  15. ^ "BYU men's volleyball sweeps Stanford in front of 500 fans". Daily Herald. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  16. ^ "BYU men's volleyball sweeps Stanford again". Daily Herald. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  17. ^ "No. 2 BYU sweeps No. 4 Pepperdine". Daily Herald. Archived from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  18. ^ "Cougars sweep Concordia for eighth straight win". Daily Herald. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  19. ^ "No. 2 men's volleyball wins tenth straight, sweeps USC". Daily Herald. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  20. ^ "Seniors Prevail as No. 2 BYU takes care of USC 3–1". Daily Herald. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  21. ^ "No. 2 BYU men's volleyball clinches No. 1 seed in MPSF Tournament with sweep at UCLA". The Universe. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  22. ^ "AVCA Preseason Rankings". AVCA. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  23. ^ "AVCA Week 1 Rankings". AVCA. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  24. ^ "AVCA Week 2 Rankings". AVCA. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  25. ^ "AVCA Week 3 Rankings". AVCA. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  26. ^ "AVCA Week 4 Rankings". AVCA. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  27. ^ "AVCA Week 5 Rankings". AVCA. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
  28. ^ "AVCA Week 6 Rankings". AVCA. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  29. ^ "AVCA Week 7 Rankings". AVCA. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  30. ^ "AVCA Week 8 Rankings". AVCA. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  31. ^ "AVCA Week 9 Rankings". AVCA. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  32. ^ "AVCA Week 10 Rankings". AVCA. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  33. ^ "AVCA Week 11 Rankings". AVCA. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  34. ^ "AVCA Week 12 Rankings". AVCA. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  35. ^ "AVCA Week 13 Rankings". AVCA. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  36. ^ "AVCA Week 14 Rankings". AVCA. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  37. ^ "Off the Block releases new college men's volleyball national media poll". Off the Block. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  38. ^ "Loyola is back in the Off the Block National Media Poll". Off the Block. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  39. ^ "There is a new No. 1 in college men's volleyball". Off the Block. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  40. ^ "In what is likely to be a prelude for the rest of the regular season, we have a split decision on who reigns supreme in the land of men's volleyball". Off the Block. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  41. ^ "Two matches in the books and Hawai'i is already back in sole possession of the No. 1 ranking". Off the Block. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  42. ^ "McKendree is undefeated and now in the National Media Poll for the first time in its program history". Off the Block. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  43. ^ "The upcoming three-match series between Hawai'i and UC Santa Barbara will now officially be a showdown of No. 1 versus No. 2 in the national rankings". Off the Block. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  44. ^ "Lewis is back in the top five of the National Media Poll". Off the Block. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  45. ^ "Loyola is back in the national rankings". Off the Block. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  46. ^ "Long Beach State continues its climb in the national rankings". Off the Block. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  47. ^ "Fresh off a pair of victories over Saint Francis on the road, No. 10 NJIT is back in the national media poll released on Tuesday morning". Off the Block. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  48. ^ "UCLA is moving up in the national rankings following its upset win". Off the Block. Retrieved April 13, 2021.