Cougars ranked No. 3 in AVCA preseason poll

PROVO, Utah – BYU men’s volleyball was voted the No. 3 team in the nation, according the AVCA Division I-II Men’s Preseason Poll, the association announced Thursday.

BYU earned a 26-5 overall and 16-2 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation record in 2017. The Cougars took a share of the regular-season conference championship in addition to getting an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

BYU beat Barton in the play-in round of the NCAA tournament before upsetting No. 2 seed Long Beach State in three sets in the semifinals. The Cougars then fell to No. 1 seed Ohio State in the title match.

The Cougars lost eight players from last year’s squad, including starters Tim Dobbert, Joseph Grosh and Jake Langlois. BYU has eight newcomers this season.

The defending national champion Buckeyes were voted as the No. 1 team, followed by former MPSF foe Long Beach State at No. 2. Ohio State received all but six first-place votes. BYU received one first-place vote.

The Cougars will face all but two teams this year currently ranked in the preseason poll.

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

BYU kicks off the season at home, hosting No. 13 Loyola-Chicago and No. 6 Lewis on January 5th and 6th, respectively.