Losing the nation’s leading blocker to a ruptured Achilles tendon was not good news to a volleyball team with hopes of winning a national title. But less than six months after surgery, Futi Tavana saw his first action of the season last weekend against Stanford. Tavana says although he’s back in the starting lineup, he’s not 100% yet.

“I still have a lot of strength to get back in my right leg. I still don’t move as well as I want to laterally, and I definitely don’t jump as well as I used to, so I’ve still got quite a ways to go,” said Tavana.

Tavana says doctors expected a recovery time of eight months to a year, but Futi has worked hard to get back to volleyball in just a few months.

“A big part of it has been his attitude towards his rehab. He said early on, ‘Hey, I’m going to play this season, and I’m going play early in the season.’ He set an aggressive rehab schedule, and he’s worked fairly hard and pretty diligently on a number of areas,” said head coach Chris McGown.

Tavana has had multiple sports-related surgeries since coming to BYU, but through intense rehabilitation and hard work, he has made it back out on the court much more quickly than anticipated. He hopes to pick up where he left off last year as one of the nation’s premier blockers and lead the Cougars to a national championship.

Coach McGown says Tavana brings not only physical gifts but also the intimidation factor to the team. Win or lose this season, the Cougars’ Achilles heel won’t be their middle blockers.

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Brady Tucker

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