One meeting, one announcement and suddenly the men's volleyball team at Grand Canyon University was gone.
Trent Moser, Kyle Zediker, and Connor Oldani remember a team meeting on April 28 when they first heard the news.
“It was a very busy day,” Oldani said.
The team had gathered expecting to learn of their new coach. But when the athletic director walked in, Oldani said he knew something was wrong.
“Our athletic director walks in,” said Oldani. “It was bad news whenever she was there. She walks in, delivers the news in about eight minutes and then immediately walks out.”
The rest of the day was filled with phone calls and messages from coaches and teammates.
GCU announced the discontinuation of its men's volleyball program on Instagram following the 2025 season, ending 17 years of competition. The program made two NCAA tournament appearances and captured the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) championship in 2024.
In its statement, the university said it would provide support services and transfer assistance to the affected athletes.
For Oldani, Zediker and Moser, the decision to enter the transfer portal was straightforward. However, the question remained: Where next?
Moser played his first two seasons of college volleyball at BYU before transferring to GCU for his junior year. During his time in Phoenix, he led the Lopes in kills during the 2025 season, earned All-MPSF first-team honors in 2023, second-team honors in 2025, and received honorable mention All-America recognition from the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
When BYU libero Jackson Fife saw the announcement about GCU's program, he reached out to Moser. One conversation led to another, and after a call with BYU coach Shawn Olmstead, things fell into place. Moser decided to return to Provo for his final season.
“Trent had a lot of opportunities. He was an All-American [at GCU] last year and so we said ‘We agree [to have him on the team],” said Olmstead.
For Zediker and Oldani, BYU was less familiar territory. Moser became their first introduction to the Cougars' program.
BYU was the first school to reach out to Zediker, and after visiting campus, he said the decision came easily.
“It was awesome,” Zediker said. “You could tell it was something special here.”
That same energy drew Oldani in as well.
“The first introduction to [BYU] was Trent,” said Oldani. “But also realizing that the culture and atmosphere here is one of a kind.”
Before the trio transferred, Olmstead said his team would be really young, but extremely talented. Now, the team can merge talent and experience together.
“Connor brings in experience,” said Olmstead. “Zediker brings in experience. We have benefited because we are able to bring in some good experience. It is really fun and exciting to see.”
This year's BYU team brings many parallels to the last team at GCU. However, Oldani is anticipating forming a new season for himself and the team using the skills he learned his first season.
“We are almost walking into a very similar situation as to how the team was formed last year at GCU,” said Oldani. “But we have that extra year under our belt and that little bit of leadership and identity that we built there and being able to bring that here and form something new is just super cool.”
Both Oldani and Zediker played one season at GCU before transferring. Oldani totaled 46 kills, 11 blocks, 18 digs, and four aces. Zediker appeared in 16 matches with 219 assists, 29 digs, 19 blocks, and 12 kills. He posted a season-high 45 assists against Stanford in the final regular-season match.
Each former Lope carries a lot of momentum into Provo and the energy shows in each practice.
FIRST DAY BACK🤙 pic.twitter.com/aFZwkcfbG6
— BYU Men’s Volleyball (@BYUmvolleyball) September 9, 2025
Every drill has a mix of intensity and friendship. Each player pushes one another, celebrates small victories, and fights for each play. The team not only works hard for the sport but works hard for each other.
“This preseason has been a grind, every day,” Moser said. “It's always been super competitive and super fun with the guys. It’s fun to be in the gym with a bunch of young guys that are loving the game.”
The balance of newcomers to veterans is exactly what Zediker says a team should have.
“You have the new guys and you have the old guys,” said Zediker. “The old guys know what the expectations are while the young guys and the transfers coming in are hungry. We all want to win. We all want to grow together. It’s a very team-first mentality.”
Men’s volleyball is the third-most attended sport at BYU, and for the new transfers and players, this season will mark their first time experiencing the electric atmosphere of the Smith Fieldhouse.