Gardini's double- double powers BYU past Concordia Irvine

Provo, UTAH. — The No. 2 BYU Cougars sweep Concordia Irvine (25-22, 25-17, 25-16) to complete an undefeated weekend. Tonight’s win marks the ninth straight victory for the Cougars.  

As a team BYU hit .373, while holding CUI to a .069 clip. The Cougars had 14.5 blocks, six aces and 36 kills. 

“Our block was well disciplined and communicating well throughout the night” said head coach Shawn Olmstead.

Davide Gardini achieved his second double-double in the 2021 season with 10 kills and 11 digs. 

When speaking on Gardini’s performance Olmstead added, “Davide continued to improve on his range which has been a big focus for him and we’ve benefitted from that focus”. 

KEY PLAYERS

• Davide Gardini: 10 kills, 11 digs, six blocks, three aces
• Gabi Garcia Fernandez: eight kills, two aces, five, blocks
• Felipe de Brito Ferreira: seven kills, .460 hitting percentage, six blocks
• Miki Jauhiainen: seven blocks

SET ONE

The match started off in Concordia’s favor with an ace by the Eagles on the first point (BYU 0-1 CUI). The Cougars quickly recovered by putting down the first of 14.5 total team blocks. Set one stayed fairly even until the 11-11 split when the BYU defense took over. Felipe de Brito Ferreira assisted in three back to back blocks forcing an Eagles timeout (BYU 15-13 CUI). BYU would win the set 25-22 off of a CUI service error. 

SET TWO

Both teams battled in the first half of set two, tying up the score over five times. After the 6-6 split, the Cougar offense stepped it up putting down a game high 16 kills. Setter Wil Stanley assisted the Cougars to .652 clip which was enough for BYU to take the set 25-17, winning off of a Concordia service error. 

SET THREE

BYU completed the sweep by dominating in set three, never allowing CUI to tie or take the lead. Controlled BYU blocking held CUI to a -.231 hitting percentage while the Cougars were able to hit .269. BYU started the final set on a 3-0 run courtesy of an error, a BYU triple block and a Gardini ace. Aces remained the story for the remainder of the set with Garcia Fernandez serving back to back aces at 21-14 and Jon Stanley serving the game winning ace at 24-16. BYU took the match 3-0 sweeping Concordia Irvine.

The Cougars will be back in the Smith Fieldhouse April 1 and 2 hosting the Trojans of USC. BYU's senior night will take place April 2, marking the conclusion of the regular season home schedule. Both matches will take place at 7:00 p.m. MDT and will be broadcast on byutv.org and the BYUtv app.