Image
Ht
6'
7"
Class
Senior
Hometown
St. Charles,
Illinois
Last School
St. Charles North High School
Roster Years
2009-2013
Personal
- Son of Russ and Susan Lavaja
- One brother, Ryan
- Brother and dad played college football
- Sports hero is Michael Jordan
- Non-sports hero is his father
- Recruited by George Mason and Hawaii
- Married to wife Kaity
- Majoring in Economics
Before BYU
- Competed with the U.S. Junior National Team at the 2009 FIVB World Championships in India
- 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
Stats
Year | G | K | K/G | E | TA | PCT | A | SA | SE | SA/G | RE | D | D/G | BS | BA | TOT | B/G |
2009 | 97 | 152 | 1.57 | 58 | 308 | .305 | 20 | 13 | 78 | .13 | 1 | 27 | .28 | 15 | 123 | 138 | 1.42 |
2010 | 114 | 216 | 1.89 | 62 | 387 | .398 | 26 | 25 | 126 | .22 | 4 | 51 | .45 | 17 | 148 | 165 | 1.45 |
2012 | 118 | 188 | 1.59 | 42 | 339 | .431 | 14 | 12 | 47 | .10 | 1 | 65 | .55 | 11 | 157 | 168 | 1.42 |
2013 | 97 | 166 | 1.71 | 41 | 293 | .427 | 10 | 5 | 37 | .05 | 0 | 33 | .34 | 3 | 110 | 113 | 1.16 |
BYU Hall of Fame
Freshman Year
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
Sophmore Year
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
- Helped 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
Junior Year
2012
- Named to the All-MPSF Second Team
- Played in 118 sets and 30 matches, starting all 30
- Finished the season with 188 kills, a .431 hitting percentage, 12 aces and 65 digs
- Also contributed a team-high 168 total blocks
- His season blocks per set (1.42) ranked 6th in the NCAA and 5th in the MPSF
- Season-high 11 kills recorded on Mar. 2 against Pepperdine and on Mar. 24 against Long Beach State
- Season-high 11 total blocks recorded on Feb. 24 against UC Santa Barbara
- Season-high 5 digs recorded on Jan. 6 against UC Irvine and on Feb. 17 against UC San Diego
Senior Year
2013
- AVCA second-team All-American
- All-MPSF First Team
- Off the Block Preseason All-American
- One of three BYU players to record 100+ blocks for four seasons
- Finished his career first in the rally scoring for most sets played (426) and second in total blocks (584)
- Finished the season with 166 kills (team high), a .427 hitting percentage (team high), 113 total blocks
- Recorded a season-high 11 kills twice
- Tied a career high in total blocks (11) Jan. 5 vs. Hawai'i
- Posted a career-high .846 hitting percentage (11-0-13) vs. Lewis
Graduate Year
Redshirt Year
2011
Medical Redshirt Year
2011
Did not compete due to injury
\r\n- M Volleyball | Jun, 10
Cougars earn four All-America honors, National Player of Year, Freshman of Year
- ImageM Volleyball | Apr, 25
Cougars earned three All-America honors and Newcomer of the Year
- ImageM Volleyball | Apr, 18
Six Cougars honored by MPSF, including Player of the Year
- ImageM Volleyball | Apr, 09
No. 1 BYU ends regular season on the road
- ImageM Volleyball | Mar, 09
Sander breaks ace record, leads BYU to 3-1 victory
- ImageM Volleyball | Mar, 08
Sander leads BYU to 3-0 sweep of Cal Baptist
- ImageM Volleyball | Mar, 05
No. 1 BYU at home Friday and Saturday
- ImageM Volleyball | Mar, 05
No. 1 BYU at home Friday and Saturday
- ImageM Volleyball | Mar, 01
Cougars complete comeback at #1 UC Irvine
- ImageM Volleyball | Feb, 26
#2 BYU back on road for matches with #1 UCI and UCSD
- ImageM Volleyball | Feb, 16
Cougars earn first road victory at USC
- ImageM Volleyball | Feb, 15
Comeback attempt not enough for No. 1 BYU
- ImageM Volleyball | Feb, 12
First road trip of the season for No. 1 BYU
- ImageM Volleyball | Feb, 12
First road trip of the season for No. 1 BYU
- ImageM Volleyball | Feb, 09
Sander and Patch lead BYU to 3-0 victory over UCLA
- ImageM Volleyball | Jan, 30
No. 1 Cougars back in action at Smith Fieldhouse
- ImageM Volleyball | Jan, 30
No. 1 Cougars back in action at Smith Fieldhouse
- ImageM Volleyball | Jan, 19
Taylor Sander's record-setting night leads to 3-0 win vs. No. 13 UCSD
- ImageM Volleyball | Jan, 12
#2 BYU sweeps #13 Lewis in rematch
- ImageM Volleyball | Jan, 06
Sander leads No. 2 BYU to 3-1 win vs. Hawai'i
- ImageM Volleyball | Dec, 03
Lavaja, Sander honored as Preseason All-Americans
- ImageM Volleyball | Jul, 23
Volleyball Magazine Awards BYU Athletes
- ImageM Volleyball | Apr, 26
Loss to Stanford in the Semifinals
- ImageM Volleyball | Apr, 24
Cougars Travel for MPSF Semifinals
- ImageM Volleyball | Mar, 30
Cougars Down CSUN, 3-1, to Complete Sweep
- ImageM Volleyball | Mar, 13
Cougars Hit The Road, Head To Hawaii
- ImageM Volleyball | Mar, 03
Cougars Earn First Match Sweep At Home
- ImageM Volleyball | Feb, 28
Waves Roll Into Provo On Friday & Saturday
- ImageM Volleyball | Feb, 24
Cougars Grab Victory At Home Against UCSB
- ImageM Volleyball | Feb, 22
Two More At Home for Volleyball
- ImageM Volleyball | Feb, 18
#3 BYU Wins Fourth Straight over Cal Baptist
- ImageM Volleyball | Feb, 11
5-Set Road Win for #3 BYU
- ImageM Volleyball | Feb, 03
BYU Defeated By Stanford At Home
- ImageM Volleyball | Dec, 05
BYU Earns Pre-Season All-America Honors