No. 6 Cougars begin season with nonconference matches

PROVO, Utah – No. 6 BYU men’s volleyball begins the season this week with a pair of nonconference neutral-site matchups against No. 2 Loyola-Chicago and No. 9 Lewis.

The Cougars (0-0) return five starters this season from last year’s squad that finished 21-9 and 18-6 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play.

Loyola-Chicago

• BYU first faces off against Loyola-Chicago (0-0) Friday at 5 p.m. PST on a neutral court at Stanford.
• The Cougars are 4-2 all-time against the Ramblers. The defending national champions picked up the last win in the series in Chicago 3-0.
• Loyola-Chicago played an exhibition match against Windsor last week, winning a close battle in five sets.
• The Ramblers were picked to finish first in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, receiving all nine first-place votes.

Lewis

• Saturday at 5 p.m. PST, BYU will take on Lewis (0-0) at Stanford’s court in its final match of the week.
• The Flyers picked up the last victory in the series 3-1 in 2014, but the Cougars hold a 12-3 overall advantage.
• Lewis swept Windsor in an exhibition match last week and will face off against UC Irvine Monday and Stanford Friday before playing BYU.
• The Flyers were picked to finish second in the MIVA behind last year’s winner, Loyola-Chicago.

Links to live stats for both matches can be found on the BYU men’s volleyball schedule page.