A stop/start system and method for an engine of a vehicle include a valve control system configured for full lift control of respective intake and exhaust valves of a plurality of cylinders of the engine and a controller of the engine configured to perform an engine stop event including initiating a fuel shutoff (FSO) event whereby fueling to the engine is disabled and the engine fully stops after a stop period and, in response to initiating the FSO event, commanding the valve control system to close each intake valve prior to closing its respective exhaust valve to (i) expel any residual gases from the cylinders during respective exhaust strokes prior to closing the respective exhaust valves, and (ii) prevent air-only intake and compression within the cylinders during the stop period to thereby mitigate or eliminate noise/vibration/harshness (NVH) caused by the air-only intake and compression.