Provo • BYU men’s volleyball coach Shawn Olmstead isn’t exaggerating when he says his nationally prominent program will feature plenty of new faces this season, after mainstays such as Leo Durkin, Price Jarman and Brenden Sander graduated last spring.
The coach who is entering his fourth season with the men’s program after guiding BYU’s women’s program for four years could also easily add that the new faces are from faraway places.
The No. 5-ranked Cougars’ starting lineup when they open the 2019 season on Thursday night at Smith Fieldhouse against No. 7 Ohio State will include four players from outside the mainland United States: Puerto Rico’s Gabi Garcia Fernandez, Italy’s Davide Gardini, Brazil’s Felipe de Brito Ferreira and Finland’s Miki Jauhiainen.