Gardini leads four Cougars in MPSF honors

WOODLAND, Calif. — BYU men’s volleyball had four players receive All-MPSF honors this season, including outside hitter Davide Gardini earning Freshman of the Year accolades.

Sophomore opposite hitter Gabi Garcia Fernandez was named to the All-MPSF First Team for the second consecutive year. In addition to being named the top freshman player in 2019, Gardini was also selected to both the All-MPSF Second Team and All-Freshman squad. Sophomore middle blocker Felipe de Brito Ferreira received honorable mention recognition and setter Brody Earnest joined Gardini on the All-Freshman team.

Gardini leads all NCAA freshmen in hitting percentage (.329), points per set (4.06), and kills per set (3.40), while he also leads all MPSF freshmen in aces per set (0.27). He is the only first-year player ranked in the MPSF’s top-10 in kill average in addition to the top-15 in hitting percentage. Gardini hit at least .400 in eight of his 22 regular season matches, and at least .300 in seven others. He is the only freshman to earn 2019 All-MPSF and Offensive Player of the Week recognition. Gardini is the sixth Cougar, and second straight, to be named MPSF Freshman of the Year (Gabi Garcia Fernandez-2018; Ben Patch-2013; Taylor Sander-2011; Yamil Perez-2007; Ryan Millar-1996).

Garcia Fernandez led the conference in kills for the entire season, and also consistently ranked in the top 15 in both blocks and service aces. He earned MPSF Offensive Player of the Week in the Cougars’ opening weekend and was named a finalist for Off the Block National Player of the Month every month this season.

De Brito Ferreira finished the regular season in second place in blocks per set in the MPSF with 1.05 and also holds the record for most blocks in a single match in the nation this season with 13 against Pepperdine.

Earnest entered the BYU lineup at a crucial time in the season, leading the Cougars to upset victories over UCLA and Pepperdine last month, and has started every match since. Earnest holds the team's season high for assists in a single match with 57 last week against Grand Canyon.

The Cougars begin MPSF tournament play this Saturday against Stanford at 7 p.m. PDT in Palo Alto.