Cougars Begin Conference Play at Stanford, Pacific

PROVO -- The fifth-ranked BYU men's volleyball team will travel to California this week to play back-to-back matches against conference foes Stanford and University of the Pacific in five days. The Cougars face the Cardinal Friday and Saturday, January 17-18, then travel to Stockton to play the Tigers Monday and Tuesday, January 20-21.

"We're going to have to play our best, and for a long time with four matches in five days," BYU head coach Tom Peterson said. "But if we do play well, it is a huge opportunity for us to get a step-up on the other teams in the conference."

Friday night's match at No. 12 Stanford (2-2) marks the first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match of the season for the Cougars (0-0), who split exhibition matches last week with Red Deer College. BYU leads the overall series record with Stanford 12-8, with a 5-6 record at Stanford. The matches Friday and Saturday will begin at 7 p.m. at Burnham Pavilion.

BYU also leads the series with No. 15 Pacific (1-3) 10-2 overall and 3-2 in Stockton.

"Pacific has perhaps the best team they've ever had," Peterson said. "Two years ago they were one of the only teams to beat BYU when BYU won the national championship." The matches Monday and Tuesday will begin at 7 p.m. at the Spanos Center in Stockton.