Image
Ht
6'
8"
Class
Senior
Hometown
Saipipi,
Last School
Kauai High School
Roster Years
2006 | 2009-2012
Personal
- Son of Gaugau and Palagi Tavana of Saipipi, Savaii Samoa
- Born in Auckland, New Zealand
- One of seven children
- Little brother Devin plays football at SUU
- Enjoys playing all sports and hanging out with friends and family
- Majoring in business management
- Would like to be just like his father who has always been a great example of hard work and dedication
Before BYU
- Attended Kauai HS and played under coach Shawn Doo
- Second team All-KIF as a sophomore in 2003
- First team All-KIF as a junior and member of 17's Club Junior Olympics All-Tournament Team
- Named KIF Player of the Year his senior season in 2005, as well as first team all-state and a member of the 18's Club Junior Olympic All-Tournament Team
- Also lettered in basketball, where he was named the 2005 Player of the Year as a senior
Stats
Kills: 16 vs. USC, 2/7/09
Attempts: 29 (two times)
Hitting %: .833 vs. Long Beach State on 3/23/12
Digs: 7 vs. UCLA on 4/6/12
Block Assists: 13 (four times)
Block Solos: 3 vs. Stanford, 4/10/09
Total Blocks: 15 (twice)
Service Aces: 1 (twelve times)
Assists: 4 vs. UC Irvine on 1/29/2011
Year | SP | K | K/G | E | TA | PCT | A | SA | SE | SA/G | RE | D | D/G | BS | BA | TOT | B/G |
2009 | 115 | 255 | 2.23. | 60 | 505 | .387 | 23 | 9 | 48 | .08 | 0 | 51 | .44 | 16 | 153 | 169 | 1.47 |
2010 | 93 | 200 | 2.15 | 54 | 367 | .398 | 14 | 12 | 52 | .13 | 4 | 52 | .56 | 14 | 137 | 151 | 1.62 |
2011 | 105 | 234 | 2.23 | 56 | 408 | .436 | 23 | 7 | 26 | .07 | 2 | 44 | .42 | 16 | 144 | 160 | 1.52 |
2012 | 91 | 170 | 1.87 | 34 | 353 | .385 | 12 | 5 | 21 | .05 | 1 | 56 | .62 | 14 | 131 | 145 | 1.59 |
Total | 404 | 859 | 2.13 | 204 | 1634 | .401 | 72 | 33 | 147 | .08 | 7 | 256 | .50 | 60 | 565 | 625 | 1.55 |
BYU Hall of Fame
Freshman Year
2009
- Second-team All-MPSF
- Played in and started all 30 matches and saw action in 115 sets on the year
- Led the team with 169 blocks, averaging 1.47 per set
- Recorded 153 block assists, fourth-most in BYU rally scoring history
- Third on the team with 256 kills on the year
- Led the team with a .387 attack percentage, ranking sixth in the conference
- Named MPSF and National Player of the Week following his back-to-back double-double performances against No. 5 Long Beach State
- Knocked down a season-high 16 kills against USC on Feb. 7
- Knocked down double-digit kills 10 times
- Led the team in blocks in 17 matches
- Put up a season-high 13 blocks against LBSU on March 21, also a team-high for the season
- Named Walk-On of the Year at the 2009 Y Awards
- Led the MPSF and ranked third nationally in blocks per set
Sophmore Year
2010
- Named second-team All-American and second team All-MPSF
- Started 25-of-30 matches following his stellar season as a redshirt freshman in 2009
- Broke the BYU all-time record for total blocks with 15 (1-14) achieved against then-No. 10 UC Santa Barbara on March 27 - helping BYU achieve a new all-time record for team blocks with 24.5 in the same match
- His average of 1.62 blocks per set led the MPSF and ranked second nationally
- Ranked second for the Cougars with 151 blocks
- Helped the team set a new single-season record for total blocks with 423, 19.5 more than the previous record set in 2009
- Helped the team be ranked 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
Junior Year
2011
- AVCA All-America First Team
- Named Blocker of the Year in Off-The-Block's inagural season of the award
- MPSF All-Academic Team
- All-MSPF First Team
- Played in 105 sets and started all 28 games
- Tallied 234 kills, 23 assists, 7 service aces, 44 digs and a team-high 160 blocks that also led the NCAA
Senior Year
2012
- Named to the AVCA All-America First Team
- Named to the All-MPSF First Team
- Played in 91 sets and 24 matches, starting all 24
- Missed the first 3 weeks due to an achilles injury
- Finished the season with 170 kills, a .385 hitting percentage, 6 aces and 155 digs
- His 1.59 blocks per set ranked second in the NCAA
- Also contributed a team-high 14 solo blocks and 145 total blocks to bring his career total to 625 and put him in first in the BYU Rally Scoring Era for career total blocks
- Second in the BYU Rally Scoring Era for solo blocks and first in the BYU Rally Scoring Era for block assists
- Second in the BYU Rally Scoring Era for his career hitting percentage of .492
- Season-high 13 kills came in first match back from injury on Feb. 3 against Stanford
- Season-high .833 hitting percentage came on Mar. 23 against Long Beach State
- Season-high 7 digs came on Apr. 6 against UCLA
- Season-high 15 blocks came on Apr. 21 against Long Beach State in the MPSF Quarterfinals (second-most in the BYU Rally Scoring Era for blocks in a single match and tied for first (his own record) in the MPSF Rally Scoring Era)
- Season-high 2 block assists came 4 different times throughout the season
Graduate Year
Redshirt Year
2006
- Redshirted 2006 season
Medical Redshirt Year
2006
- Redshirted 2006 season
- M Volleyball | Jul, 23
Volleyball Magazine Awards BYU Athletes
- ImageM Volleyball | May, 30
Stowell & Tavana Win Academic Award
- ImageM Volleyball | May, 30
Stowell & Tavana Win Academic Award
- ImageM Volleyball | Apr, 26
Sander & Tavana Named All-Americans
- ImageM Volleyball | Apr, 24
Cougars Travel for MPSF Semifinals
- ImageM Volleyball | Apr, 21
BYU Advances with 3-2 Victory
- ImageM Volleyball | Apr, 14
Volleyball Nets Senior-Night Sweep
- ImageM Cross Country | Apr, 12
Cougar Club Hosts Annual Y Awards
- ImageW Track & Field | Apr, 12
Cougar Club Hosts Annual Y Awards
- ImageW Track & Field | Apr, 12
Clone of Cougar Club Hosts Annual Y Awards
- ImageM Track & Field | Apr, 12
Cougar Club Hosts Annual Y Awards
- ImageAthletics | Apr, 10
Cougar Club Hosts Annual Y Awards
- ImageM Volleyball | Mar, 13
Cougars Hit The Road, Head To Hawaii
- ImageM Volleyball | Mar, 09
Tavana Breaks Block Record in Win
- ImageM Volleyball | Feb, 24
Cougars Grab Victory At Home Against UCSB
- ImageM Volleyball | Feb, 08
#3 BYU Plays Two In California Thursday & Saturday
- ImageM Volleyball | Feb, 08
#3 BYU Plays Two In California Thursday & Saturday
- ImageM Volleyball | Feb, 04
Cougars Swept by Stanford
- ImageM Volleyball | Feb, 03
BYU Defeated By Stanford At Home
- ImageAthletics | Jan, 19
Athletes Inspire Students at Sports Hero Day
- ImageM Volleyball | Jan, 17
Fox News Spends The Day With Men's Volleyball
- ImageM Volleyball | Dec, 05
BYU Earns Pre-Season All-America Honors