Cougars Host Warriors in Important Regular-Season Finale

THE GAME

The second-ranked BYU men's volleyball team will take on top-ranked Hawai'i in a pair of important MPSF matches, beginning Friday, April 13th in the Smith Fieldhouse. The two teams will hook up again on Saturday, April 14th, with both matches scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. (MDT).

THE STAKES

With a bid to the 2001 MPSF Tournament already secure, the Cougars will be playing this weekend for the right to host the league tournament. By virtue of the league's tie-break system, BYU will need to win just one of the two matches against Hawai'i in order to host the three-round tournament. Should Hawai'i win both matches, the Warriors will host the MPSF Tournament, while BYU would end up hosting a first-round match only. In addition, should BYU sweep the series, the Cougars will claim their second regular-season MPSF title in the past three seasons. As if the stakes weren't already high enough, two more wins would likely put the Cougars in the driver's seat for an at-large berth to the NCAA Final Four in Long Beach, Calif., should they fail to secure the automatic bid by winning the MPSF Tournament. Two wins would give BYU a 20-3 regular-season record, marking the best record in the country. The Cougars' season would include 12 wins against nationally-ranked opponents, including a mark of 4-0 against teams ranked in the top-five. All totaled BYU spent five of 13 weeks as the top-ranked team in the nation, marking the longest stretch at the top by any team in the country.

THE BYU-UH RIVALRY

This weekend's series will mark the 21st and 22nd meeting between the two teams, dating back to the 1990 season with the Cougars holding a slight 11-9 lead in the rivalry. BYU has posted a mark of 7-1 in Provo, including a streak of four-straight wins at home. The Warriors' last victory in Provo came on March 10, 1995, knocking off the Cougars 3-2 in the Smith Fieldhouse. After Hawai'i won five of the first seven meetings in the series, BYU has come back to win nine of the last 13 matches, including three straight victories, dating back to the 1999 season.

LEADER OF THE PACK

BYU head coach Carl McGown is in his 12th season at the helm of the BYU men's volleyball program. The 1999 AVCA National Coach of the Year has posted a career mark of 177-123 over the past 11 seasons, including a record 30-1 season in 1999. Since the 1997 campaign, McGown has averaged nearly 21 wins per year, recording a mark of 102-25 (.803). McGown led BYU to its first-ever National Championship in 1999 and has served as coach and as an advisor for the United States Olympic and National teams in various Olympic and international competitions.

NECK-N-NECK

While UCLA has posted a 142-25 league record, dating back to the 1993 season, BYU ranks second with a mark of 118 wins and only 50 losses in league competition. Hawai'i ranks a close third with a 117-51 league mark over the past nine seasons.

TIE-BREAKER

Ties affecting the selection and/or seeding for the MPSF Tournament shall be broken by applying the following method:

1. Head-to-head record in MPSF match play between tied teams.

2. Overall MPSF match record within division.

3. Overall MPSF match record against all other MPSF Tournament qualifiers.

4. Percentage of games won in all MPSF matches.

By virtue of BYU's 5-0 record against teams in the MPSF's Mountain Division, the Cougars currently hold the tie breaker against Hawai'i, which posted a 4-1 mark against opponents in the Pacific Division.

HOME SWEET HOME

With an 11-1 record in the Smith Fieldhouse, the Cougars have posted an impressive 51-4 (.927) record in Provo since the 1998 season and a 64-6 (.914) overall mark at home since the 1997 campaign. As one of the most popular sporting events on campus, over 163,000 fans have packed the Smith Fieldhouse and Marriott Center to watch the Cougars. BYU has averaged nearly 3,200 fans per match since the 1997 season, including a record 4,748 fans per match in 1999. On Feb. 19, 1999, BYU defeated Hawai'i, 3-1, in front of 14, 156 fans in the Marriott Center to set the NCAA single-match attendance record. The Cougars recorded a Smith Fieldhouse record on Feb. 23 when 6,119 fans were on hand for the four-game victory over No. 1 UCLA. Five of the Cougars' top-six games in the Smith Fieldhouse have been against the Bruins, with the previous all-time SFH record set at 5,864 against UCLA on March. 28, 1997.

WHEN No. 1 MEETS No. 2

Earlier this season, second-ranked BYU faced No. 1 UCLA in the Smith Fieldhouse. The Cougars came away victorious, posting a 3-1 win over the Bruins. On March 3, BYU, then ranked No. 1, traveled to No. 2 Pepperdine, recording a 3-2 win over the Waves. This season BYU is a perfect 2-0 in No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups. Hawai'i enters this weekend's series as the No. 1 team in the country.

WHATS IN A RANKING

After holding the number-one ranking in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches Poll for a season-best five straight weeks, the Cougars dropped last week to No. 2 after a five-game loss at Pacific. Hawai'i took over the top spot, marking the first time since 1996 the Warriors had earned the No. 1 ranking. In this week's poll, the Warriors remained No. 1 for a second straight week, despite the Cougars' two-straight, three-game victories at fifth-ranked Stanford.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Friday's match will be televised live on KBYU, ch. 11 with Holly Rowe calling the action and Chris McGown lending expert commentary. Fans outside the Salt Lake area can watch the game on BYU-TV. For BYU-TV access, visit http://www.byutv.org or view the information sheet listed below.

HOW TO ACCESS BYU-TV:

BYU Television is available from the following sources:

• Dish Network, channel 9403

• DirecTV, channel 374 see 2001 DirecTV offers

• AT&T Digital Cable (Utah)- Gradual rollout beginning March 30th

• Cox Digital Cable (Phoenix Area)- Available Now!

• Cable America (Mesa, AZ)- Channel 97.

• Via the Internet at http://www.byutv.org

Dish Network- On Dish, BYUTV is part of the basic Dish Network Top 40 package. However, this receive from different satellites, because it is located on Dish Network's second satellite.

You can order a Dish Network receiver with Dish 500 satellite dish from New Star Communications at 1-800-968-9929. Be sure to give them reference code #2011.

Or, you may contact any Dish Network reseller. You can also reach Dish Network directly at 1-800-333-DISH.

DirecTV- On Direct, BYU Television is part of the basic Select Choice package. To receive the

channel, though, you must have a multi-satellite 18x24 oval dish and related receiver, because BYUTV is on DirecTV's second satellite.

You can also order a new or upgrade dish from New Star Communications at 1-800-968-9929. Be sure to give them reference code #2011.

Or, you may visit visit your local reseller or contact DirecTV at 1-800-DIRECTV. DirecTV is offering many discount packages for 2001. View the 2001 offers.

Please note that neither BYUTV nor Brigham Young University is affiliated with the Dish Network or DirecTV except as a provider of educational programming. We are simply providing this information as a service to those who may be interested.

AT&T Digital Cable (Utah)- BYUTV will be available throughout the state of Utah on AT&T Digital Cable. A gradual statewide rollout is expected by begin March 30.

Cox Digital Cable (Phoenix Area)- Cox Cable subscribers in the Phoenix/Mesa area now have access to BYUTV on the Cox digital system.

In addition, BYUTV is available on the All-American Cable System in Mesa (channel 97).

On the Internet- You can watch and listen to BYUTV using the Windows Media Player via the Net. Both Windows and Mac versions of this product can be downloaded for free by visiting http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmedia/. Please note that this service generally requires a high-speed Internet connection for the best experience.