Russ Lavaja
Middle Blocker #5
Ht
6'
7"
Class
Senior
Hometown
St. Charles, 
Illinois
Last School
St. Charles North High School
Roster Years
2009-2013


Personal

  • Son of Russ and Susan Lavaja
  • One brother, Ryan
  • Brother and dad played college football
  • Sports hero is Michael Jordan
  • Non-sports hero is his father
  • Recruited by George Mason and Hawaii
  • Married to wife Kaity
  • Majoring in Economics

Before BYU

  • Competed with the U.S. Junior National Team at the 2009 FIVB World Championships in India
  • Attended St. Charles North HS and played for Brad Mitchell
  • Unanimous all-conference honorable mention
  • Played for the Sports Performance club team under Cheryl Butler
  • 2007 A2 National team

Stats

Year-by-Year stats
Year G K K/G E TA PCT A SA SE SA/G RE D D/G BS BA TOT B/G
2009 97 152 1.57 58 308 .305 20 13 78 .13 1 27 .28 15 123 138 1.42
2010 114 216 1.89 62 387 .398 26 25 126 .22 4 51 .45 17 148 165 1.45
2012 118 188 1.59 42 339 .431 14 12 47 .10 1 65 .55 11 157 168 1.42
2013 97 166 1.71 41 293 .427 10 5 37 .05 0 33 .34 3 110 113 1.16

BYU Hall of Fame

Freshman Year 2009

  • Played in 28 of the team's 30 matches on the season and saw action in 97 sets on the year
  • Started 23 matches for the Cougars
  • Hit 152 kills on the season, averaging 1.57 per set
  • Recorded 13 service aces, including three against Pepperdine on April 16
  • Finished second on the team with 138 blocks
  • Had a season-high 10 blocks against Stanford on April 10
  • Knocked down 13 kills against both USC (Feb. 7) and Cal State Northridge (April 25)
  • Ranked seventh nationally in blocks per set
Sophmore Year 2010

  • Played in 114-of-119 sets on the season
  • Started in all but two matches as a middle blocker
  • Led the team in blocks in nine matches
  • Led the Cougars in seven matches in service aces
  • Tallied 216 kills, 1.89 k/s, 387 attempts, .398 hitting percentage, 26 assists
  • Led the team with 25 service aces, 17 solo blocks, 148 blocking assists and 165 total blocks
  • His 165 total blocks place him fourth on the BYU all-time rally scoring record list
  • Earned honorable mention All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation honors
  • Helped the Cougars set a new team single-season record for total blocks with 423, 19.5 more than the previous record set in 2009
  • Helped rank the team No. 1 in the NCAA and the MPSF in blocks per set with 3.55, while kills per game ranked them No. 4 in the Nation with 15.80 earned Academic All-MPSF
  • Earned a career-high 15 kills and 23 attempts against Stanford on 1/23/10
  • Earned a career-high .714 hitting percentage (min. 9 att.) against Pepperdine on 3/5/10
  • Posted a career-high six digs against UCLA on 1/8/10
  • Tallied a career-high 11 blocking assists against UCLA on 1/30/10, also earning a career-high on total blocks (11)
  • Had a career-high four service aces against USC on 3/19/10
  • Chalked up a career-high three assists against St. Francis
Junior Year 2012

  • Named to the All-MPSF Second Team
  • Played in 118 sets and 30 matches, starting all 30
  • Finished the season with 188 kills, a .431 hitting percentage, 12 aces and 65 digs
  • Also contributed a team-high 168 total blocks
  • His season blocks per set (1.42) ranked 6th in the NCAA and 5th in the MPSF
  • Season-high 11 kills recorded on Mar. 2 against Pepperdine and on Mar. 24 against Long Beach State
  • Season-high 11 total blocks recorded on Feb. 24 against UC Santa Barbara
  • Season-high 5 digs recorded on Jan. 6 against UC Irvine and on Feb. 17 against UC San Diego
Senior Year 2013

  • AVCA second-team All-American
  • All-MPSF First Team
  • Off the Block Preseason All-American
  • One of three BYU players to record 100+ blocks for four seasons
  • Finished his career first in the rally scoring for most sets played (426) and second in total blocks (584)
  • Finished the season with 166 kills (team high), a .427 hitting percentage (team high), 113 total blocks
  • Recorded a season-high 11 kills twice
  • Tied a career high in total blocks (11) Jan. 5 vs. Hawai'i
  • Posted a career-high .846 hitting percentage (11-0-13) vs. Lewis
Graduate Year

Redshirt Year 2011

Medical Redshirt Year 2011

Did not compete due to injury

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    M Volleyball | Mar, 05

    No. 1 BYU at home Friday and Saturday

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    M Volleyball | Mar, 05

    No. 1 BYU at home Friday and Saturday

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    M Volleyball | Jan, 12

    #2 BYU sweeps #13 Lewis in rematch

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    M Volleyball | Apr, 26

    Loss to Stanford in the Semifinals

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    M Volleyball | Apr, 24

    Cougars Travel for MPSF Semifinals

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    M Volleyball | Mar, 13

    Cougars Hit The Road, Head To Hawaii

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    M Volleyball | Feb, 22

    Two More At Home for Volleyball

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    M Volleyball | Feb, 11

    5-Set Road Win for #3 BYU

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    M Volleyball | Feb, 03

    BYU Defeated By Stanford At Home

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