PROVO — The involuntary gasps are easily apparent throughout the Smith Fieldhouse on just about every occasion.
And those same gasps are often turned into cheers just split seconds later.
The occasion is when recently named AVCA National Men’s Volleyball Player of the Year Gabi Garcia Fernandez sets up behind the service line.
The 6-foot-7 Puerto Rican generates an awesome amount of velocity on the ball coupled with pin-precision accuracy to which those in attendance react as if it’s something they’ve never seen before.
And those fans largely haven’t, until this past season.
Garcia Fernandez was well on his way to obliterate BYU’s all-time mark for service aces in a season. In fact, with six regular season matches remaining in the 2020 season, the junior opposite hitter had already notched 56 aces, one ahead of Taylor Sander’s previous all-time record of 55, right before the cancellation of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“What could have been and should have been is frustrating to think about because he was well on his way to do something really, really special with his serving,” said BYU coach Shawn Olmstead. “He was only getting better and better with every match, and it’s just one of the many disappointments of this season we weren’t able to finish.”
So why the focus on serving when leading out a discussion of what earned Garcia Fernandez player of the year honors?
Surely there’s much more involved with the game, to which Garcia Fernandez excelled at just about all the different facets, from killing the ball effectively over the net to receiving the ball on the defensive end. But for the men’s volleyball game, serving prowess takes a certain pedestal in the minds of those who know the game best, and for good reason.
Take BYU’s trip to the national championship match back in 2016 versus Ohio State, as just one example.
The Cougars were paired off with Ohio State in the finals, and pretty much matched the Buckeyes blow for blow throughout. But the big difference proved to be Ohio State’s Nicolas Szerszen, who scored three aces during the match, but more importantly served effectively enough to get the Cougars out-of-system enough to produce big and ultimately devastating scoring runs.
“You saw that for sure with Szerszen back then and we saw similar things with Gabi this year,” Olmstead said. “We’ve had several matches that were tight where Gabi got us going with his serve and really changed the entire course of the match.”
“It took a lot of work. It’s really hard to put into words the amount of work and concentration you have to put in ... there were times when I’d serve 100 balls a day, and was exhausted the next day from the time I was a freshman.” — BYU’s Gabi Garcia Fernandez, on his serving
Indeed, aces are nice, but causing an opposing team to work out-of-system can prove almost as important.
“A lot of times I feel bad having to tell reporters all the time that the match came down to serving, but that’s almost always the case with any match,” Olmstead said. “At our level, it’s a bigger part of the game than I think most realize. ... The game is so fast and physical, that pretty much any team that gets in system is going to score. So you need constant pressure from the service line.”
And no one applied that pressure better than Garcia Fernandez this past year.
Getting to where he was service-wise didn’t just come, however. Certainly Garcia Fernandez entered BYU’s program in 2018 as an adept server, although he’s put in countless hours since to arrive at the point he is currently.
“It took a lot of work,” Garcia Fernandez said. “It’s really hard to put into words the amount of work and concentration you have to put in ... there were times when I’d serve 100 balls a day, and was exhausted the next day from the time I was a freshman.”
Garcia Fernandez credits a large part of his serving development to the work of Olmstead and former assistant coaches Luka Slabe and Jaylen Reyes, along with the current assistant coaches on staff.
Garcia Fernandez has grown in all facets.
“He’s made a ton of strides since coming in as a very developed and experienced freshman,” Olmstead said. “Gabi feeds off challenges. He wants to be pushed. He wants those extra reps with the coaches, and that’s something that sets him apart.”
He’s also proved exceptional off the court during practices and other team functions, helped out by very supportive parents.
“He comes from a great family,” Olmstead said. “Both his mother and father are wonderful people who really care about him and his experience here, and he’s a great teammate — a really great teammate. He really cares and looks out for everyone on the team. And he’s just really embraced the environment here at BYU.”
True to his coach’s description, Garcia Fernandez was quick to credit all those around him for earning player of the year honors.
“The award is something I’m still processing,” Garcia Fernandez said hours after the award was announced. “I’m extremely proud and everything. Yesterday I was with Davide (Gardini) and Filipe (de Brito Ferreira) and this is special for me because of my teammates. My heart is very full right now. I’ve been receiving so much love today from a lot of people. It’s a grateful day in my life.”