Gardini has career night, despite No. 13 BYU falling in tight 3-2 loss to No. 9 GCU

PROVO, Utah — No. 13 BYU suffered another loss to the No. 9 Grand Canyon Saturday night, falling in five sets (26-24, 30-28, 22-25, 26-28, 16-18) in the Smith Fieldhouse. The match brings BYU’s record to 5-9 on the season and extends the Cougars’ losing streak to seven straight matches.

"It's huge for this team to battle to the end against a good, veteran team, but it doesn't take away the hurt from the loss," said head coach Shawn Olmstead. "I was proud of them." 

GCU’s Christian Janke topped the statistical leaderboard with a career-high 31 kills and a .587 hitting percentage in the match. Right behind him, BYU Davide Gardini celebrated a career night, putting down 29 kills and a .500 clip. His previous career high was 26.The last time a Cougar tallied 29 or more kills in a match was Taylor Sander at USC in March 2011.

"He's shown a lot of big time leadership this season," said Olmstead about Gardini. "He's carrying a heavy load as one of the veterans on the team and he's doing very well with it. We ask and expect a lot from him, but he never shies away or backs down from those expectations.”

The Cougars hit .317 for the match, with 66 kills and seven service aces. The Antelopes recorded a .363 clip with 73 kills and three aces. The match featured 50 total tied scores and 11 lead changes.

BYU played the same starting lineup as Friday’s game, its 11th variation in 14 matches, featuring senior outside hitter Gardini, senior opposite hitter Alex Ah Sue, sophomore setter Bartosz Slawinski, sophomore middle blocker Gavin Julien, freshman middle blocker Teon Taylor, freshman outside hitter Miks Ramanis and senior libero Mitchel Worthington.

SET ONE
BYU started strong with a 5-1 run, including three kills by Ramanis. The teams traded points until senior opposite hitter Alex Ah Sue earned points for BYU with a block assist and an ace to bring the Cougars’ lead to 8-3. GCU pushed back with two points of its own, but a kill by Gardini and an Antelope error kept the Cougars up 10-5. 

The teams traded points until GCU went on a 3-0 scoring run to narrow the Cougars’ lead to 13-10. GCU’s run ended with a service error, earning BYU just one point before the Antelopes managed another 3-0 run. This diminished BYU’s lead to just 14-13. Four BYU errors allowed GCU to trail closely behind until 21-20.

Kills from Ah Sue, Ramanis and Gardini kept the Cougars in the lead at 23-21, but back-to-back points by the Antelopes tied the score at 23-23. 

Gardini slammed a kill to put the Cougars up 24-23, but a BYU service error tied the score again at 24-24. Opportune kills by Julien and Ramanis earned the Cougars their final two points, giving BYU the set-win at 26-24. The Cougars achieved a hitting percentage of .308, holding the Antelopes to a .185 clip.

SET TWO
Gardini and Ramanis slammed quick kills, but two BYU service errors tied the score at 2-2. Freshman middle blocker Teon Taylor and Ah Sue both tallied kills, giving BYU a 4-2 lead. GCU’s Janke battled back with two kills, but two Antelope attack errors kept them at bay.

The teams traded kills, including back-to-back kills by Gardini, extending the Cougars’ lead to 12-8. GCU responded with a 4-0 scoring run which featured two aces, tying the score again at 12-12. From there, the opponents tied another seven times until 20-20. Back-to-back kills by the Antelopes put GCU back in the lead at 21-20.

A string of five collective service errors knotted the set again at 23-23. An ace by junior libero Jon Stanley brought the Cougars to set point at 24-23. However, a GCU kill tied the score again at 24-24. The teams ping-ponged points, tying another four times by 28-28. Two detrimental errors by GCU gave BYU its second set-win at 30-28.

SET THREE
The third set started with both teams trading errors, before back-to-back kills by GCU put the Antelopes in the lead at 4-2. Gardini put down a kill to bring the score to 4-3, but BYU errors increased GCU’s lead to 6-3. Kills by Gardini, Julien and Ramanis contributed to the Cougars’ comeback. An ace by Ramanis tied the score at 10-10. 

Kills by Taylor and Gardini matched GCU’s points, tying the score again at 14-14. This set the teams off, notching seven consecutive kills collectively. The kill streak was followed by six straight errors, leaving the Antelopes with a slim 19-17 lead.

GCU’s Kyle Thompson tallied a kill, but Ah Sue matched with one of his own. Freshman outside hitter Luke Benson made an appearance to add an ace to the stat line and Gardini followed with a kill. However, GCU still maintained a lead at 23-22. Ultimately, the Antelopes hit a .476 clip compared to BYU’s .292, taking their first set-win at 25-22.

SET FOUR 
An ace by Taylor put BYU on the board first. The opponents traded points evenly until sophomore outside hitter Kupono Browne smashed back-to-back kills, giving BYU a lead at 7-6. The teams continued to match points, with 12 tied scores by 12-12. 

A crucial 5-0 scoring run increased GCU’s lead to 16-12. Ramanis notched a kill to end the Antelopes’ streak. Minutes later, Taylor tacked on a kill to keep BYU trailing by only three points at 18-15. This kill lit a spark with 13 of the next 14 points coming strictly from kills, including three each by Gardini and sophomore outside hitter Kupono Browne. GCU managed to maintain its lead, sitting at 24-22. 

The Antelopes gave up one point due to error before another six kills commenced, featuring two by Ramanis. A final BYU error gave the Antelopes their second set-win at 28-26.

SET FIVE
The Lopes quickly put down two points to begin the final set. Gardini slammed down a kill to get BYU on the board, topping his career high with his 27th kill of the night. The teams traded kills and service errors, GCU having a slight edge at 5-4.

Gardini followed a GCU error with an ace to tie the score for the first time at 6-6. Four ties later and BYU took back its lead at 13-11 after another Ramanis kill. GCU fought back with another kill, but Gardini slammed one down to put BYU at match point at 14-12.

GCU shifted the momentum with three straight kills to take back the lead at 15-14. Ramanis added two more kills, but GCU's Thompson matched his two kills, securing the Antelopes their third set-win at 18-16 and complete the reverse sweep.

Up next, the Cougars travel to Los Angeles to face USC in a two-match series starting on Friday, March 4 at 7 p.m. PST in the Galen Center.