BYU Volleyball wins five set thriller over Stanford

Ninth-ranked BYU Volleyball won a thrilling five set match (21-25, 25-17, 21-25, 25-23, 17-15) over eighth-ranked Stanford on Thursday night at the Smith Fieldhouse.

The Cougars fell in the first set to the Cardinal, despite hitting .500 in the set (Stanford hit .640), before rebounding in a dominant second set. The Cougars again hit .500 in a 25-17 set. From the start, Davide Gardini led the Cougars in what would be a career-night for the freshman from Italy.

The Cougars would lose the third set, going down 2-1 to the Cardinal. The result would set up a thrilling fourth set, which the Cougars would win in a tight battle, 25-23.

The Cardinal took an early lead in the fifth set, and held on until match point. But the Cougars would fight back, and after four straight match point opportunities for the Cardinal, BYU tied it up and set up their own match point opportunity. The Cougars would win om a controversial no-call, but Stanford had already used all of its challenges.

Gardini was incredible on the night, recorded a career-high 22 kills on a .515 hitting night. Gabi Garcia Fernandez added 13 kills of his own, while Wil Stanley provided 54 assists for the Cougars.

The Cougars improve to 8-4 on the season and remain undefeated at home. The Cougars will travel to Stanford on Saturday night.