The BYU men's volleyball team is looking to return to the national championship game after losing in last year's final to Hawaii. While almost half of last year's team is gone, BYU's roster is full of replacements hungry to prove themselves.
Cougars in the pros: BYU pitcher makes Major League debut for Chicago Cubs
Former BYU pitcher Michael Rucker made his Major League Baseball debut on July 30 for the Chicago Cubs and BYU men’s basketball star Yoeli Childs will be playing with the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Summer League Aug. 8-17.
Baseball
Michael Rucker, a right-handed pitcher for BYU from 2013-2016, made his MLB debut on July 30 against the Washington Nationals, recording a strikeout and giving up two hits in two innings for the Chicago Cubs.
Rucker was drafted by the Cubs in 2016 and spent five years in the minor leagues before making his major league debut. He was assigned to five different minor league teams over those five years, most recently the Iowa Cubs. He was invited to spring training with the Chicago Cubs in 2020 and 2021 before officially getting his first call up to the majors on July 30.
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Shawn Olmstead on BYUSN - 05.07.2021
PROVO On the court, Wil Stanley may be the most important piece of the offense for the second-ranked BYU men s volleyball team.
The quarterback of the team, the 6-foot-4 setter from Honolulu is in charge of setting up every spike, kill and slam to a group that includes All-American hitters Gabi Garcia Fernandez and middle blockers Felipe de Brito Ferreira and Miki Jauhiainen.
Basically, if it s an attack, chances are Stanley has to guide it.
But last year, the senior with the Spirit of Aloha was called on for an even bigger task one that had very little to do with sets, bumps and spikes.
KSL TV
PROVO In its first match since clinching the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title April 24, BYU men s volleyball wasted little time putting MIVA champion Lewis on its heels.
The third-ranked Flyers wasted little time counter-punching No. 2 BYU.
Then, Gabi Garcia Fernandez wasted little time doing Gabi Garcia Fernandez things.
With hitting for speed, power, or simply touch, the Puerto Rican international was too much for the best of the midwest.
Garcia Fernandez poured in 17 kills, seven digs, two aces and two blocks, and BYU held the Flyers below .300 hitting en route to a 25-22, 25-15, 26-28, 25-20 Thursday in the NCAA Tournament semifinals at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio.