Cougars ranked No. 1 in AVCA preseason poll

PROVO, Utah – BYU men’s volleyball was named the No. 1 team in the nation in the AVCA Division I-II Men’s Preseason Poll, the association announced Wednesday.

BYU earned a 17-10 overall and 14-8 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation record in 2015, good for sixth place in league play. The Cougars were ousted from the MPSF tournament in the quarterfinals at USC.

BYU lost three seniors from last year's squad - including four-year starting libero Jaylen Reyes, who is now an assistant coach with the team. The Cougars return All-American Ben Patch this year, who recently returned from his LDS mission.

Fellow MPSF foe UC Irvine was voted as the No. 2 team, while back-to-back defending national champions Loyola-Chicago were picked as the No. 3 overall squad. BYU received 13 first-place votes while the Ramblers collected six. The only other team to receive a first-place vote was national runner-up Lewis, who is ranked No. 8 in the preseason poll. 

For a complete list of the preseason top-15 selections, visit the AVCA poll page.

The Cougars kick off the season hosting the AVCA Showcase. BYU will face off against No. 3 Loyola-Chicago to start the season on Jan. 8, followed by a match with No. 14 George Mason on Jan. 9.