Oldani getting comfortable on right side for BYU men’s volleyball
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- BYU’s Connor Oldani takes a swing against UC San Diego in a men’s college volleyball match at the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026.
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- BYU’s Connor Oldani (16) and AJ Cottle put up a block against UC San Diego’s Sani Sebastiano in a men’s college volleyball match at the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026.
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- BYU players celebrate a 3-0 victory against No. 10 UC San Diego at the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026.
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- BYU men’s volleyball coach Shawn Olmstead gives instructions to his team during a men’s college volleyball match against UC San Diego at the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026.
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- From left, BYU’s Tyler Herget, AJ Cottle and Trent Moser form a block against UC San Diego’s Josh Ewert in a men’s college volleyball match at the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026.
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- BYU’s AJ Cottle (left) and Trent Moser watch the bouncing ball during a men’s college volleyball match against UC San Diego at the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026.
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- BYU’s Teilon Jonathan Tafuga takes a swing against UC San Diego in a men’s college volleyball match at the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026.
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- BYU’s Trent Moser takes a swing against UC San Diego in a men’s college volleyball match at the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026.
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- BYU’s Tyler Herget (3) digs a ball in a men’s college volleyball match against UC San Diego at the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026.
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- BYU’s Jackson Fife dives for a ball in a men’s college volleyball match against UC San Diego at the Smith Fieldhouse on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026.
Early in Friday’s top 10 men’s college volleyball showdown between BYU and UC San Diego, sophomore Connor Oldani popped up an errant ball with his foot and the Cougars came up with a point on the play.
It was the first clue that Oldani was going to have a great night.
“I was like, ‘OK, I’ve got a little bit of confidence,'” Oldani said. “‘I think we’ll be alright.'”
Oldani, the Grand Canyon transfer playing in just his third match as a right side hitter, was more than alright; He was nearly unstoppable, posting a career-high 16 kills on 20 swings with just one error. For those doing quick math, that’s an other-worldly .759 hitting percentage.
No. 8 BYU hit .460 as a team and revved up the Smith Fieldhouse crowd (4,230) in an impressive sweep (25-21, 25-19, 25-19) of the 10th-ranked Tritons.
“Hergie (setter Tyler Herget) made a lot of good decisions,” Cougar head coach Shawn Olmstead said. “Our hitters made a lot of good attacking, smart plays. They didn’t try to overdo it. Everything was pretty high and into the corner, and that allowed us to get a lot of deflections and just make good swings.”
Oldani’s journey to his career high is worth the tell.
He grew up playing volleyball in Arizona and joined the Grand Canyon program in 2025 as a freshman. As a 6-foot-5 outside hitter, Oldani showed promise in his first season with the Antelopes. Then in April of 2025, the university announced it was cutting men’s volleyball — a short news release called it a “sports sponsorship change” — leaving Oldani and his teammates with an uncertain future.
One of those teammates was Trent Moser, a former BYU player who had transferred to Grand Canyon in 2025. The two formed a friendship and Oldani said Moser pushed him to be better.
“I really had no idea where I wanted to go or where I was going to be able to go,” Oldani said. “Trent was a huge part of that because he said, ‘Hey, I can talk to the BYU coaches for you.’ I didn’t know much about the program, or about anything. But I was going to take every chance.”
Moser, Oldani, setter Kyle Zediker and Max Phillipe made a recruiting visit to Provo and found their next home, committing just three days later.
When the team came back from Christmas break, Olmstead approached Oldani with a proposal to move from outside hitter to the right side.
“He didn’t even let me finish the sentence,” Olmstead said. “He was like, ‘Tell me where I’m going and I’m going.”
Oldani started slowly, totaling 12 kills in two opening matches against Saint Francis.
“It’s a big change,” Olmstead said. “Last week he was definitely getting a little more comfortable with it. Today we got a lot of reps and he was pretty aggressive from there.”
“Every week is a new step,” Oldani said. “I think, after a bit, I’ve been adjusting pretty well.”
Oldani was terrific in Set 1 against UC San Diego, finishing with seven kills on seven swings with no errors. Two great diving digs from libero Jackson Fife led to an Oldani kill and a 15-12 lead. Oldani had two kills and an ace to get the Cougars to 23-20 and AJ Cottle’s float serve was mishandled for a 25-21 win.
BYU didn’t commit a single error in Set 1, getting 14 kills on 20 swings for a .700 hitting percentage.
The Cougars kept rolling in Set 2, moving to set point after an Oldani kill and a UCSD hitting error. Oldani put down the winner at 25-19 and after two sets, had 11 kills on 15 swings with just one error (.667).
The sophomore had a kill and teamed up with Gavin Chambers for a block, giving BYU a 12-8 lead in Set 3. Oldani added a kill from the back row for a 20-13 Cougar advantage. His solo block made the score 23-18 and a UCSD service error, its 17th of the match, ended Set 3 with a 25-18 BYU win.
“He (Herget) kept looking at me and telling me, ‘Hey, you’re getting the ball,'” Oldani said. “That kind of confidence he had in me was super big with how I played today. That was building through everyone on the our team and throughout every hitter on the court, and that’s going to be super big for us. He (Herget) is very articulate on the court. That brings a huge part to the game, just him being able to lead and develop everyone through that.”
Not surprisingly, Oldani has been thrilled with his experience in Provo so far.
“It’s been amazing,” he said. “The support from the community and the support that everyone here has for volleyball, it’s just such a different atmosphere than anywhere else. It’s such a huge part of how we play as a team and how we function as a program.”
