PROVO — In what came as little surprise, BYU’s Gabi Garcia Fernandez was named the AVCA 2020 National Player of the Year.
With Thursday’s announcement, Garcia Fernandez becomes the third BYU player to earn the award, with Carlos Moreno being the first in 2004 and then Taylor Sander in 2014.
In an incredible junior campaign that was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Garcia Fernandez averaged 5.46 points per set and .918 aces per set to lead the NCAA in both categories. The versatile star also ranked 11th in kills per set (4.00), 19th in blocks per set (1.00), 23rd in attacks per set (7.98) and 25th in hitting percentage (.343).
While all facets of his game were on point, Garcia Fernandez will perhaps be best for his serving prowess. Just about every time he unleashed one of his screaming serves over the net a clearly audible ‘gasp’ could be heard from the Smith Fieldhouse crowd, given the amazing velocity.
Even with six regular-season matches and the postseason canceled, Garcia Fernandez still managed to tally 56 aces to break the BYU single-season aces record. The powerful server totaled eight aces in a sweep over Mount Olive to tie for the second-most aces by a BYU player in a single match.
He matched that performance once again before play stopped, serving eight aces in a sweep over then-No. 1 Hawai’i. Having accumulated 139 aces over three seasons, the junior is only 44 away from becoming BYU’s all-time career leader in aces.
Garcia Fernandez is a native of Puerto Rico and is planning to return for his final senior year in 2021.