Cougars' McGown Aims For Career Win No. 150

PROVO -- BYU's all-time winningest men's volleyball coach, Carl McGown, will be gunning for his 150th career victory on Friday, Feb. 11th, as the sixth-ranked Cougars play host to eighth-ranked Loyola Marymount in the Smith Fieldhouse, beginning at 7 p.m. (MST).

"In terms of career wins, this really isn't that big of a milestone," McGown said. "When we first started competing at this level 11 years ago, we got killed night in and night out. I never thought we would ever get over .500.

"So, from that aspect it's nice. However, it really doesn't compare to the career milestones achieved by Elaine Michaelis, LaVell Edwards, Gary Pullins and all the other coaches we have here at BYU. Another 800 wins or so, and I'll be right up there with Elaine (Michaelis)."

McGown picked up career win No. 149 on Saturday, upsetting third-ranked Pepperdine in five games, 7-15, 7-15, 15-7, 15-11, 17-15.

"Last week was a good trip for us," McGown said. "We played the second- and third-ranked teams in the nation and took Long Beach to five games and won a match at Pepperdine. We were in every match and these guys just never gave up."

McGown is in his 11th season of NCAA competition at BYU and has posted an overall record of 149-114 (.567), including a school record 30-1 mark last season. Over the last three season, including 11 matches in 2000, McGown has led the Cougars to an amazing 74-16 (.822) record, averaging nearly 25 wins per season. The all-time winningest coach in BYU men's volleyball history led the Cougars to their first-ever NCAA National Championship in 1999, posting a 30-1 overall record and an 18-1 mark in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

McGown has paced the Cougars to five top-10 finishes throughout his career at BYU, including a No. 1 ranking in 1999, No. 7 in 1998, No. 4 in 1997, No. 5 in 1995 and No. 2 in 1994. Following the 1999 season, McGown was named the AVCA National Coach of the Year.

In addition to his duties at BYU, McGown has served as head coach of the USA National Team from 1973-1976 and became a technical advisor to the team in 1980. Since then McGown has coached in four different Olympic Games, including the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, the 1988 Games in Seoul, Korea, the 1992 Games in Barcelona, Spain and the 1996 Games in Atlanta. McGown has also coached the National Team in seven different World Championships, the Word University Games and the Pan American Games.

Friday's match will begin at 7 p.m., while Saturday's match against Loyola Marymount will begin at 5 p.m. (MST). Both matches will be played in the Smith Fieldhouse.