Futi Tavana, a freshman middle blocker and starter on the No. 6 Brigham Young University men’s volleyball team, had 28 kills in two consecutive matches against No. 5 Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif., last weekend. The Cougars downed the Cardinal
Futi Tavana, a freshman middle blocker and starter on the No. 6 Brigham Young University men’s volleyball team, had 28 kills in two consecutive matches against No. 5 Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif., last weekend.
The Cougars downed the Cardinal 3-2 on Friday, with Tavana contributing 13 kills, three assists, an ace, two digs and eight blocks. On Saturday, when the Cougars went down in three straight games, he led the team with 15 kills, and had two blocks.
Earlier, he had nine kills, four blocks and an assist in an upset of No. 1 University of California at Irvine, in a match at Smith Fieldhouse on the BYU campus in Provo, Utah.
Tavana, a 2005 Kaua‘i High graduate whose parents Palagi and Dr. Gaugau Tavana live in Kalaheo, is in Malibu, Calif., for matches against No. 2 Pepperdine Friday. Next, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play-in match is scheduled for Wednesday, April 22, the quarterfinals on Saturday, April 25, and the finals Thursday, April 30 through Saturday, May 2.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s volleyball championships are at BYU Thursday through Saturday, May 7 to 9.
Souza scores in final home match
Shanlyn Souza, a senior attack with the Pacific University Boxers women’s lacrosse team, scored her team’s first two goals in an 18-11 loss to the University of Puget Sound at Lincoln Park Stadium in Forest Grove, Ore., marking the Boxers’ final home game of the season. For the season, Souza, daughter of Sandra and Stuart Souza of ‘Oma‘o, has 11 goals and six assists. The Boxers end their season on the road at the University of Puget Sound at Baker Stadium Saturday, after playing another road match at McMinnville, Ore., against Linfield College Thursday. She is a Kaua‘i High graduate.
Javillo blazes on base paths for Aggies
Shaleese Javillo, a freshman outfielder on the New Mexico State University Aggies women’s softball team, is second on the team in stolen bases, and is 12 for 12 in that category. She is the daughter of Rochelle and Clayton Javillo, and is a 2008 Kamehameha School Kapalama graduate who lives in Kapa‘a.
The Aggies are 24-14 overall, 4-4 in the Western Athletic Conference, and Javillo hit her second home run of the season, batting 2 for 4 with four RBIs, in a 16-7, six-inning win over San Jose State Saturday. She is batting .313 for the season with two doubles, two home runs, and 10 RBIs.
Reichle is workhorse for Thunderbirds
Alec Reichle, a 2004 Kaua‘i High graduate from Koloa, is a junior starting left-handed pitcher for the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds, and leads the team in innings pitched with 56 1/3. He started nine games this year, is 1-3 with a 4.63 ERA, has 19 strikeouts, and opponents are batting .275 against him.
In 2007, he was a second team all-Mid Continent Conference performer, and his 3.28 ERA lead all Thunderbirds pitchers. In 2008, in 14 starts, he was 3-6 with 40 strikeouts, and third on the team with 73 2/3 innings pitched.
A sociology major, Reichle lettered in baseball and basketball all four years at Kaua‘i High, and is at home in Cedar City, Utah this weekend for a four-game conference series against visiting Western Illinois University. A single game is Friday, and a doubleheader Saturday. In the Summit League, the Thunderbirds are 6-1, and 16-14 overall.
In his most recent start, Reichle pitched 4 2/3 innings, gave up five earned runs on five hits, striking out four before being relieved, and his Thunderbirds scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning to secure a 7-5 win over Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne at Fort Wayne, Ind.
The regular season ends for the Thunderbirds at Brookings, S. Dakota, against South Dakota State University on Saturday, May 16.