No. 3 Cougars sweep No. 15 Penn State in home opener

PROVO, Utah – Sophomore Davide Gardini’s career-high .750 hitting percentage helped No. 3 BYU men’s volleyball sweep No. 15 Penn State (25-23, 25-19, 25-23) in the home opener Friday night at the Smith Fieldhouse.

"I felt that at a few key moments, we made some big plays," BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. "Those three sets were pretty close, so hats off to them and their coach. Some of their players just embraced the atmosphere and the crowd here and in some ways it fed to their offense and they enjoyed it."

Gardini’s hitting percentage is tied for the 10th highest individual hitting percentage in a single match in the BYU rally era. The outside hitter recorded 13 kills on 16 attempts while adding eight digs and one service ace. Junior Gabi Garcia Fernandez had a match-high 14 kills adding two digs and one assist. Wil Stanley totaled 32 assists as well as four digs and one service ace while his brother Jon Stanley tallied his first career service ace.

BYU vs. Penn State Final Box Score

Set 1
Two service aces from Penn State (0-1) gave the Nittany Lions a two-point lead but BYU (3-0) fought back with two kills to tie the game at 10-all. The two teams traded the lead before Gardini tallied a kill followed by the Cougars' first service ace of the night from Wil Stanley for 18-16 lead. BYU took a three-point lead with two errors from the Nittany Lions to make the score 22-19. However, Penn State made up ground bringing the score within one point at 23-22. A kill from Gardini gave the Cougars a two-point edge, but a service error from BYU again brought the game within one at 24-23. Garcia Fernandez finished off the first set with a kill to give the Cougars a 25-23 win.

Set 2
To open up the second set, BYU took an early lead going up 10-7 before going on a 6-1 run to make the score 16-8. The Nittany Lions managed to bring the game within five points at 23-18 with a service error from the Cougars. Another kill from Gardini made it match point at 24-19 before a service error from Penn State gave the Cougars set two at 25-19.

Set 3
In the third set, the Nittany Lions came out firing, taking a 7-4 lead. The Cougars came from behind with a block from Wil Stanley and Felipe de Brito Ferreirato tying the set at 9-all. BYU took its first lead of the set with a kill from Garcia Fernandez making the score 13-12. The two teams traded points before the Cougars went up three points to make the score 20-17. However, Penn State rallied to tie the score at 20-all. With his first career service ace while playing in his first career match, Jon Stanley gave BYU a 23-21 advantage. A block from Miki Jauiainen and Garcia Fernandez gave the Cougars the sweep as BYU took the final set 25-22.

The Cougars remain at the Smith Fieldhouse for its second game against Penn State on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 5 p.m. MT. The game will be broadcast live on BYUtv as well as on the BYUtv app.