2022 Season Review: Cougars fought hard in rebuilding season

PROVO, Utah —  BYU men’s volleyball finished the 2022 season with an 8-17 record and a No. 6 spot in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. 

This year’s team included 11 returners from the previous season, only one starter, and nine newcomers. The 2021 MPSF Coach of the Year, Shawn Olmstead, returned for his seventh season. In a season of rebuilding, Olmstead had 16 different starting lineups, trying to fill the holes left by five starters from the previous season. 

“I was proud of our team and the way they stayed the course throughout the entire season,” Olmstead said. “It was a difficult season, no doubt, as it relates to overall wins and losses. I get that, and the guys get that, but they never hung their heads or shied away from the task at hand. I’m proud of them for that. The amount of gratitude we have as a coaching staff for them and their heart can’t be put into words.”

2022 By the Numbers

Overall Record: 8-17

MPSF Record: 3-10

Final National Ranking: N/A

Final Conference Ranking: No. 6

Hitting Percentage: .286 (6th in MPSF, 18th in NCAA)

Blocks Per Set: 2.06 (5th in MPSF, 18th in NCAA)

Aces Per Set: 1.23 (5th in MPSF)

W-L Percentage: .320 (7th in MPSF)

Assists Per Set: 11.29 (6th in MPSF, 19th in NCAA)

Digs Per Set: 7.35 (7th in MPSF)

The Season

The 2022 season began for the Cougars on Jan. 6 in University Park against Penn State. In the all-time series between these two teams, BYU led 13-6, but ended the weekend with two losses (3-0, 3-0). 

Two weeks later, the Cougars welcomed UC Irvine to Provo, beating the Anteaters in back-to-back games in the Smith Fieldhouse. In game one, the Cougars defeated UC Irvine in a hard-fought 3-2 win. BYU would go on to sweep UCI the second night. 

From there, BYU remained in Provo to host matches in three consecutive weekends, facing University of Mount Olive, Ball State and UC San Diego. Against Mount Olive, the Cougars tallied two wins. The momentum continued with another win for BYU against Ball State on night one. 

However, a loss on the second night against the Cardinals would ultimately set BYU on a nine-match losing streak. BYU posted losses against UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, Grand Canyon and USC. This stands as BYU’s longest losing streak since losing 14 straight back in 1990. The Cougars put an end to this streak with two wins against Concordia University Irvine in the Smith Fieldhouse (3-0, 3-1). 

With some momentum, BYU continued with road matches, heading to California to take on Pepperdine and Stanford. On March 25, the Cougars dominated the Waves 3-1 on their home court. The next evening, Pepperdine made a comeback, sweeping BYU. In its last road series of the season, BYU fell in both matches to the Cardinal (3-0, 3-2).

The final regular season games took place in Provo on April 15-16 against UCLA. Heading into the match, the Bruins were ranked No. 1 in the nation. BYU put up a fight, especially up 2-0 in the secnd match, but UCLA walked away with two wins (3-1, 3-2).

The quarterfinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Men's Volleyball Tournament started on Wednesday, April 20. No. 6 seed BYU fell in a five-set heartbreaker (22-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-21, 14-16) to No. 3 seed Pepperdine, ending the Cougars' tournament run and their season. 

Awards and Honors

The American Volleyball Coaches Association announced its list of 2022 All-Americans on Monday, including senior outside hitter Davide Gardini.

Gardini was named to the All-America First Team for his third consecutive year. This season, Gardini received additional recognition as Off the Block Preseason First Team All-American and All-MPSF First Team. He ranked ninth in the nation in kills per set with 4.11 on a .342 hitting percentage. He led the Cougars with 433.5 points and 378 kills. A highlight this season included Gardini achieving a new career-high tally of 30 kills against UCLA on April 16 in the final match of his career in Provo.

Three players were named to MPSF all-conference teams. Gardini was named to the All-MPSF First Team. Additionally, freshman outside hitter Miks Ramanis and freshman middle blocker Teon Taylor made the MPSF All-Freshman Team.

Ramanis played in 90 sets, notching the second-highest kill count on the team (274), second-most points (307) and second-highest ace total (26). He racked up 102 digs and 47 blocks in the regular season. 

Taylor participated in 58 sets and had 54 total blocks, the team’s second-highest tally. He added 31 kills and 62 points to his stat line. 

Looking to 2023

BYU said goodbye to three seniors: Gardini, middle blocker Branden Oberender and opposite hitter Alex Ah Sue. 

“We had a phenomenal group of seniors,” Olmstead said. “Wonderful young men who did all they could to lead a young group forward. Each of them played an integral part as to who we were this year.  It may not have been an 'in-match' role, but in the bigger picture, they each played roles that were needed in the configuration of what is a team. Davide took on the role of court leader and did so remarkably well. He carried a load larger than we’ve seen in years past at BYU and still found ways to excel. I’m proud of how he represented himself, his family and the entire BYU volleyball community.”

An addition to the team next season includes Trent Moser from Gilbert, Arizona. 

“We can’t wait to have Trent be a part of Cougar Nation,” Olmstead said. “Trent is an athletic, long, volleyball player who can play the game in all six rotations. He’s been coached well at all levels and has family ties to the sport. As men’s volleyball is continuing to grow in the state of Arizona, it’s exciting to see the talent level rise.”

The Cougars will continue to experience growth and development with their current roster.

“We plan to build and grow from the lessons learned this year,” Olmstead said. “If we continue on with the same, we will not have learned much. It’s important that all of us take something valuable and strive to be a bit better at what we do. Each of us, starting with me, can take something from this year and build on that to be in a stronger place from the start.”