In the immediate aftermath of No. 8 BYU’s first setback of the season last Friday in a reverse sweep heartbreaker to No. 5 UC Irvine, it was easy to focus on mistakes that ultimately cost the Cougars a signature win.
However, the Cougars had played a good match, particularly in the early stages, and had again seen encouraging production from their rising underclassmen.
One of the brightest spots of the evening was true freshman outside hitter Trevor Herget, who saw intermittent time on the court throughout the match before playing from the middle of the fourth set through the fifth. The Darien, Connecticut, native gave the Cougars a spark, finishing the night with five kills and leading BYU with a .429 hitting percentage.
“Trevor did exactly what we wanted (him) to do,” BYU coach Shawn Olmstead said of Herget’s play that night. “We felt like we could put Trevor in at that moment and he was going to go serve … and just try to add a little something. And he did just that. So we kept him in. He hit for an unreal number (and) served tough.”
Herget was one of four BYU players that hit .400 or better that night, including freshman middle blocker AJ Cottle and sophomore outside hitter Connor Oldani.
The trio of underclassmen — Herget, Oldani and Cottle — also combined for over half of the Cougars’ blocks Friday night against the Anteaters.
Friday was not an aberration, though. BYU has found great production this season from impressive youngsters on a roster full of them. Eleven Cougars are underclassmen, with eight a part of the school’s talented freshman class.
Olmstead remains excited for his youthful cast.
“(We’ve) got some young dudes that are … not as polished, but that’s where we’re going to start the process,” he said in a “BYU Sports Nation” interview earlier this month. “(I’m) really, really excited about those young guys.”
Olmstead’s optimism for some of his youngest players has already been validated on the court. The second weekend of the season, which saw the Cougars earn a pair of wins over previously ranked No. 10 UC San Diego, showcased career nights for Oldani and Cottle in back-to-back matches.
Oldani led BYU on the first night, with what was then his career-high 16 kills while hitting a whopping .750 and adding three blocks. Not to be outdone, Cottle produced 10 kills on a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage and 11 blocks the very next evening.
A week later was Herget’s time to shine before more outstanding performances from Cougar underclassmen Saturday night in a second go-around against the Anteaters.
Oldani bested his career high in kills Friday with 17, then topped that with 22 Saturday. In the second bout with UC Irvine, the Grand Canyon transfer was joined on the court by fellow former ‘Lope sophomore setter Kyle Zediker — who had 29 assists — sophomore middle blocker Gavin Chambers — who had five blocks — and for the first time this season in the starting lineup by freshman middle blocker Max Philippe, who finished the night with five blocks as well.
Six matches into the season, six of the 13 players that have seen the court for BYU are freshmen or sophomores, with many statistically leading the team.
Chambers and Oldani have played in more sets (23) than any other player, with the former leading BYU in blocks at 25 and the latter in kills with 74 to go along with his six service aces — the second most of any Cougar. Cottle is the only player on the team with more than five attacks to be hitting over .500 on the season, going .596 for the year so far on 47 swings and has also chipped in 22 blocks — second only to Chambers.
Needless to say, the future looks bright for a BYU squad filled with talented underclassmen that are gaining experience each week.
After two five-set defeats to UC Irvine last weekend, the Cougars’ youngsters will try to help the school bounce back against UC Santa Barbara later this week in their first road matches of the season, starting Thursday and concluding with a second match Friday. Both contests will begin at 8 p.m. MST.
