Five Cougars Named to All-MPSF Team

PROVO -- The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation announced the men’s volleyball All-MPSF team Thursday, five BYU players topping the list.

Senior outside hitter Andrew Stewart was named to the All-MPSF first team, sophomore middle blocker Futi Tavana was named to the second team, and sophomore Robb Stowell was named to the third team, while senior setter Reed Chilton and sophomore middle blocker Russell Lavaja were given All-MPSF honorable mention honors.

Stewart was named the Sports Imports/AVCA Division I-II Men's National Player of the Week March 15, and was also named MPSF Player of the Week March 22. Stewart leads the team on the attack with 433 total kills (.333 hitting) this season and ranks 10th in the MPSF for kills per set. Stewart has helped his Cougars achieve a fourth-place ranking in hitting percentage, a third-place ranking in kills, and a No. 1 ranking in blocks the MPSF. Stewart also leads the Cougars on defense with 214 digs this season, tallying 1.96 digs per set. He also has the third-most blocks on the season for the Cougars with 115.

Tavana ranks second in the NCAA in blocks per game, averaging 1.59 with a total of 121. Tavana leads the MPSF in blocks and has helped BYU achieve 3.61 blocks per set to lead the NCAA and MPSF. He has helped BYU achieve the No. 7 spot for hitting percentage in the NCAA while maintaining a .414 hitting percentage individually. Tavana broke the BYU all-time record with 15 total blocks against UC Santa Barbara on March 27, also helping his team break the BYU all-time record of 24.5 team blocks. He has tallied 185 kills on .414 hitting, 12 assists, 12 service aces, 47 digs, 13 solo blocks and 138 total blocks on the season.

Stowell was named AVCA National Player of the Week April 5 after recording a double-double each night to lead to a pair of 3-1 wins at then-No. 8 Long Beach State. He was also named MPSF Co-Player of the Week April 5. The sophomore has the second-most kills on the season for the Cougars with 378 on .329 hitting. Stowell has the second-most service aces on the team with 15 and the third-most digs on the team with 147 on the season. Stowell has helped his Cougars achieve a fourth-place ranking in hitting percentage, a third-place ranking in kills, and a No. 1 ranking in blocks the MPSF.

Returning to play after a knee injury, Chilton has served as a great asset to the Cougar squad as a team captain, tallying over 1,839 assists in only three seasons. He ranks 15th in the nation for assists per game with 12.49. He also ranks fifth in BYU all-time career assists and has earned Academic All-MPSF twice. Chilton has tallied 1,099 assists this season, averaging 12.49 assists per set, helping his team to a .316 overall hitting percentage. Although a setter, Chilton has tallied one double-digit game in digs this season and two in his career, achieving the fourth-most digs on the team this season with 101.

Lavaja has helped the BYU Cougars achieve the No. 1 ranking in blocks in the NCAA and MSPF. He has the fourth-most kills on the team with 210 on a .405 clip, and leads the team with 22 service aces. He has added 25 assists, and 50 digs. He leads the team in blocking with 17 solo blocks and 141 assisted blocks (158 total). Lavaja ranks fifth in the NCAA in blocks per game with 1.53. With a .405 hitting percentage overall, Lavaja helped BYU earn a No. 7 ranking in hitting percentage in the NCAA. His 210 kills have helped BYU to be ranked fourth in the NCAA in kills per game.