Stewart and Tavana Earn All-America Honors

PROVO -- The AVCA announced the Division I-II men’s volleyball All-America teams Thursday, BYU senior Andrew Stewart being named to the first team and BYU sophomore Futi Tavana named to the second team.

“I think it’s a great honor for those two individuals and it’s a great compliment to the team,” BYU head coach Shawn Patchell said. “In my opinion Futi was the best middle blocker in the nation and Andrew was the best all-around outside hitter in the nation. I think it is a deserving award for both of those guys.”

To achieve the first team All-America citation, Stewart was named the Sports Imports/AVCA Division I-II Men's National Player of the Week March 15 after leading his team to a perfect 2-0 record at the Long Beach State Active Ankle Tournament. He was also named MPSF Player of the Week March 22. Stewart leads the team on the attack with 449 total kills (.332 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 216 digs this season, tallying 1.91 digs per set. He also has the third-most blocks on the season for the Cougars with 119.

Tavana ranks second in the NCAA in blocks per game. He leads the MPSF in blocks and has helped BYU achieve 3.59 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 .408 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 190 kills on .408 hitting, 14 assists, 12 service aces, 48 digs, 14 solo blocks and 146 total blocks on the season.

Stewart and Tavana will be back in action Thursday against Cal State Northridge in the semifinals of the MPSF Tournament, hosted by Stanford. Go to the SCHEDULE PAGE to follow GameTracker or Live Video at 5 p.m. PT.

AVCA Division I-II Men’s First-Team All-America
Player           Institution   Pos     Yr   Ht    Hometown
Carson Clark+    UC Irvine     RS/Opp. So.  6'5   Santa Barbara, Calif.
Kasey Crider     Pepperdine    S       Jr.  6'4   Granite Bay, Calif.
Brad Lawson      Stanford      OH      So.  6'7   Honolulu, Hawai’i
Max Lipsitz *'   Penn State    MB      Sr.  6'7   Williamsville, N.Y.
Kevin McKniff    CS Northridge MB      Sr.  6'7   Tucson, Ariz.
Jacek Ratajczak+ CS Northridge MB      Sr.  7'2   Warsaw, Poland
Erik Shoji *     Stanford      DS/Lib. So.  6'0   Honolulu, Hawai’i
Kawika Shoji *'  Stanford      S       Sr.  6'3   Honolulu, Hawai’i
Andrew Stewart   BYU           OH      Sr.  6'6   Sandy, Utah
Jonas Umlauft    Hawai’i       RS/Opp. Fr.  6'9   Stadtbergen, Germany
AVCA Division I-II Men’s Second-Team All-America
Player             Institution   Pos     Yr   Ht    Hometown
Dean Bittner *'    Long Beach    RS/Opp. Sr.  6'8   Lakewood, Calif.
Dennis Del Valle+' Penn State    DS/Lib. Jr.  5'8   Toa Alta, Puerto Rico
Jordan DuFault +   UC Irvine     OH      Jr.  6'4   Lakewood, Calif.
Steven Kehoe       Ohio State    S       Jr.  6'4   North Bend, Ohio
Garrett Muagututia UCLA          OH      Sr.  6'5   Oceanside, Calif.
Cory Riecks        Pepperdine    OH      Jr.  6'7   Auburn, Calif.
Evan Romero        Stanford      RS/Opp. Sr.  6'7   Miami Lakes, Fla.
Shawn Sangrey      Ohio State    RS/Opp. So.  6'5   Columbia, Penn.
Futi Tavana        BYU           MB      So.  6'8   Kalaheo, Hawai’i
Joshua Walker      Hawai’i       OH      Jr.  6'1   Virginia Beach, Va.
AVCA Division I-II Men's National Player of the Year: Announced at NCAA Championship Banquet on May 5
AVCA Division I-II Men’s Newcomer of the Year: Jonas Umlauft, Hawai’i, Fr.
* - 2009 AVCA Division I-II Men's First-Team All-America selection
+ - 2009 AVCA Division I-II Men's Second-Team All-America selection
' - 2008 AVCA Division I-II Men’s Second-Team All-America selection