2012 NCAA MEN’S VOLLEYBALL Mountain High
BYU begins 2012 with the
sky as the limit by Eric Hammond
The favorites
BYU (20-8) ■ 2012 AVCA Preseason Rank: 1 ■ Key Returnees: Futi Tavana (MB, Saipipi, Samoa), Robb Stowell (OPP, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), Taylor Sander (OH, Huntington Beach, Calif.), Russ Lavaja (MB, St. Charles, Ill.). ■ Outlook: Chris McGown, a BYU alum- nus, enters his fi rst year as head coach of the Cougars, who are coming off a 20-win season, second-place MPSF fi n- ish, and an undefeated regular season at home. In reaction to being voted preseason No. 1, McGown said, “It’s a nice recognition of the amount of work that our guys have put in over the last few seasons to get to that point.” Yet, he knows BYU’s competition, especially within the MPSF, will be top-notch. “It’s an amazing, amazing group of coaches with the collective experience that’s unmatched anywhere in the country. Maybe in any sport. In our conference, it’s unbelievable - the quality of coaches and quality of play- ers,” McGown said. Three AVCA All-Americans return to the court, including Tavana, Stowell and Sander. McGown said, “(Taylor Sander) has been playing phenomenally in our practice and I expect him to put up some big numbers in the league this year. He’s a wonderfully gifted athlete and just has a tremendous feel for the game and for the ball and it’s just fun having him in the gym and watching him do the things that he does.” However, Tavana and Stowell were injured during the offseason and may miss the start of the year. Lavaja redshirted last season due to injury, but is now healthy. McGown used the offseason to focus on building team culture, work ethic and sound skills. “We’re trying to be a growth-mindset team in that they embrace feedback and they love to get coached. We try to talk to them about the fact that it’s a wonderful thing to be coached and to be told you’re doing it wrong. Expert players and really good players long for that. They yearn to be coached and they want to be told where they are making mistakes. Getting that mentality in place in our gym was important as well,” said McGown.
44 | VOLLEYBALLUSA
SURPRISING COUGAR Taylor Sander of BYU was the MPSF Newcomer of the Year in
2011.ate
STANFORD (19-9) ■ 2012 AVCA Preseason Rank: 4 ■ Key Re-
turnees: Brad Lawson (OH, Honolulu, Hawaii), Erik Shoji (L, Honolulu, Hawaii), Eric Mochal- ski (OH/Opp/MB, Manhattan Beach, Calif.). ■ Outlook: 2010 MPSF Player of the Year Lawson and libero Shoji own fi ve All-Ameri- can honors between them. Mochalski returns from an all-freshman season, after posting Stanford’s all-time record in single-season hit- ting percentage.
OHIO STATE (26-6) ■ 2012 AVCA Preseason Rank: 8 ■ Key
Returnees: Shawn Sangrey (OPP, Columbia, Pa.), Grayson Overman (MB, San Clemente, Calif.), Mik Berzins (OH, Brinklow, Md.). ■ Outlook: 2011 Volleyball Magazine Coach of the Year Pete Hanson and the Buckeyes won their fi rst national championship last year after going 11-1 in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association to win their fi fth-straight regular-season title. The Buckeyes also won the league’s post-season tournament for the fourth straight year to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Sangrey ranked 15th nationally in kills per set at 3.92 and 21st in aces at 0.34 per set. He was the Ohio State team leader in points (4.63), kills (3.92) and aces per set.
UC IRVINE (19-12) ■ 2012 AVCA Preseason Rank: 2 ■ Key
Returnees: Carson Clark (OPP, Santa Barbara, Calif.), Austin D’Amore (MB, Laguna Hills, Calif.), Scott Kevorken (MB, Westlake Village, Calif.), Jeremy Dejno (OH, New Berlin, Wis.), Kevin Carroll (OH, Los Alamitos, Calif.). ■ Outlook: The MPSF semifi nalists a year ago return AVCA All-American Clark, D’Amore and all-freshman honoree Scott Kevorken in the middle. Head coach John Speraw predicts that Clark will be one of the top opposites in the country. “Certainly Carson brings a lot of experience. Particularly, his serve has gotten better and so I’m expecting him to score a bunch of points for us off the endline as well,” Speraw said. There is also plenty of recent buzz in the volleyball media surrounding French newcomer Kevin Tillie. Speraw noted, “Kevin Tillie is a very smooth volleyball player. He’s an exciting athlete and I think he’s going to be a special player in the NCAA. But I know he’s committed to becoming a better volleyball player and I think that work ethic is his most important asset to this team. So I’m excited about not just who he is, but where he can go as a volleyball player for us.” Asked about his offseason competition and preparation, Speraw said, “I think we learned a lot from
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