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PROVO — BYU’s presence as a men’s volleyball power, as well as its affiliation with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, grants the school the ability to recruit at an international level.
But those were only ancillary reasons for the recruitment of middle blocker Miki Jauhiainen to Provo. He wanted somewhere that would also challenge him academically.
In BYU, he found it all.
“I wanted to play somewhere where I could also keep studying,” said Jauhiainen, a Finnish international. “At first, I wanted to study math — but computer science was a lot more fun. So I wanted to play volleyball and study computer science; I didn’t care where. BYU just happened to be the place where I landed.”
The 6-foot-9 senior from Tampere, Finland, is a starting middle blocker for the No. 2 Cougars, putting down 40 blocks, 40 kills and 16 digs for a program that is off to its second-best start in program history at 13-0. It's the best start since 1999, when the Cougars opened the season 18-0 prior to winning a national championship.
He’s also leading the No. 2-ranked men’s volleyball team in the country to its second-best start in program history. And he’s doing it all while balancing a 4.0 GPA in computer science.
What’s the secret?
In a word for the multilingual star blocker: balance.
“You have to be really disciplined to get everything done in my classes,” Jauhiainen told KSL.com. “Add practice to it, then I have to make sure I’m disciplined in everything.”
As the tallest player on his side of the net, Jauhiainen paces a BYU front row that ranks third nationally with 2.75 blocks per set. The middle blocker is one of three Cougars ranked in the top-50 individually in blocks per set, coming in No. 41 with .87 blocks per set.
His role is about to be more important, too, as the Cougars continue MPSF play Thursday against Concordia Irvine (6-8, 1-2 MPSF) in the Smith Fieldhouse (7 p.m. MT, BYUtv).
That’s because star opposite Gaby Garcia Fernandez is questionable to return to BYU’s starting lineup. The junior from Puerto Rico did not play last Friday in a 3-0 sweep of Grand Canyon, and BYU coach Shawn Olmstead didn’t mention when he’ll return to the floor.
“He is still a very huge part of our team,” Olmstead told the Provo Daily Herald. “I’m not going to get into those things; we keep those issues pretty internal and we think that’s the right approach. We love Gabi and we’re excited for him to be a part of our team, and that’s the way we’re going to move forward.”
In addition, junior middle blocker Felipe de Brito Ferreira left last week’s match early with an apparent leg injury. His status for this week, including Saturday’s home match against USC (6 p.m. MT, BYUtv), is also in question.
Which leaves valuable minutes, sets and time for players like Jauhiainen.
And there are few better players to take on an expanded role in college volleyball.
The angles, the mental gymnastics of logic and strategy; it all helps Jauhiainen to be one of the top blockers in the country — and also, possibly the smartest.
“Miki might be the brightest guy in the NCAA, a 4.0 student, and I don’t think he’s ever strayed below that,” Olmstead said. “We’re lucky to have him.”
It’s a crucial crutch to lean on for the Cougars, who returned a massive group of upperclassmen to be one of the top teams in the country.
But it’s not the end result, either.
“It’s nice to be where we’re at, but let’s remember that we just finished January,” Olmstead added. “We’ve got to stay at it and get into May, to do the things that we’ve been doing for the past 4-5 months.”
How to watch, stream
No. 2 BYU (13-0, 3-0 MPSF) vs. Concordia Irvine (6-8, 1-2 MPSF)
When: Thursday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. MT
TV: BYUtv
Streaming: BYUtv.org
Series: BYU leads 3-2
