SANTA BARBARA -- Day one of the 2010 season was a success as the No. 6 BYU men’s volleyball team notched wins against No. 2 UC Irvine and No. 8 UCLA on Thursday in the first two rounds of the Santa Barbara Invitational.

The Cougars opened the tournament with a 3-1 upset victory (22-30, 30-26, 30-22, 30-27) over the Anteaters. UCI claimed the 2009 national championship played in Provo last May.

Senior outside hitter Andrew Stewart led the Cougars with 19 kills and a .375 hitting percentage. Kevin Sagers and Robb Stowell contributed 17 kills apiece. Both Stewart and Sagers recorded double-doubles with 15 and 10 digs, respectively. Stewart picked up where he left off in 2009 when he earned 22 double-doubles on the season.

In its second match of the day, BYU pulled out a tough five-set win over UCLA (30-26, 24-30, 27-30, 30-24, 15-11).

With the wins the Cougars advance to the tournament championship match on Friday when they will play No. 9 Cal State Northridge at 6:30 p.m. MT. Tickets to the match can be purchased by calling the UCSB Ticket Office at (805) 893-UCSB or visiting the website HERE.

PROVO -- The BYU men’s volleyball team opens its 2010 season at the 46th Annual Santa Barbara Invitational on Jan. 7-8. The Cougars will join seven other teams at the tournament, including, Cal Baptist, Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC San Diego and host UC Santa Barbara.

The Cougars will face reigning national champion UC Irvine in the opening round on Thursday, then will compete against either UCLA or UC San Diego in the second round.

Tickets to the Invitational are available by calling the UCSB Ticket Office at (805) 893-UCSB or visiting the website HERE.

All-Session Passes bought in advance sell for $12 for adults, $9 for seniors and $5 for youth. All-Session Passes purchased after Jan. 6 are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $8 for youth. Single-Day Passes for either Thursday or Friday are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $5 for youth.

More information about the tournament can be found HERE.

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MATCH SCHEDULE 
Thursday, January 7 – 11 a.m. 
 Match 1: UCSB vs. CSUN (court 4) 
 Match 2: CBU vs. LBSU (court 3) 
 Match 3: UCLA vs. UCSD (court 2) 
 Match 4: BYU  vs. UCI (court 1) 
Thursday, January 7 – 7:30 p.m. 
 Match 5: TBD vs. TBD (court 3/4) 
 Match 6: TBD vs. TBD (court 2) 
 Match 7: TBD vs. TBD (court 3/4) 
 Match 8: TBD vs. TBD (court 1) 
Friday, January 8 – 11 a.m. 
 Match 9: 7th/8th place (court 4) 
Friday, January 8 – 1:30 p.m. 
 Match 10: 5th/6th place (court 4) 
Friday, January 8 – 4 p.m. 
 Match 11: 3rd/4th place (court 4) 
Friday, January 8 – 6:30 p.m. 
 Match 12: 1st/2nd place (court 4)
Courts 1, 2, and 3 are located in the Events Center (Thunderdome) and court 4 is located in Robertson Gymnasium. All four courts will be utilized for both of Thursday’s sessions. All of Friday’s matches will be played on court 4 in Robertson Gymnasium. All matches involving UCSB will be played on court 4 in Robertson Gymnasium.