Rivalry Continues in the Smith Fieldhouse

PROVO -- Sitting atop the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation standings, the No. 2 BYU men's volleyball team will host the No. 5 Pepperdine Waves Friday and Saturday at the Smith Fieldhouse in a continuation of one of the hottest rivalries in the conference.

The two teams were picked to finish first and second in the MPSF preseason poll with Pepperdine holding the slight edge at the No. 1 spot, but the season has played out so that the Cougars are currently three spots ahead of the Waves in the conference and the national standings.

Pepperdine is one of four teams on BYU's 2008 schedule that has a winning record against the Cougars, however. BYU does lead the series against Pepperdine in Provo 8-7, and the matchup has become a heated rivalry. When the two teams faced off in 2007, the No. 1 ranked Cougars traveled to Malibu, Calif. to take on the No. 2 Waves. Pepperdine won the first match in five sets and swept the second meeting. The No. 2 Cougars are now looking to return the favor.

Saturday's match will be broadcast live on BYUTV with Chris McGowan calling play-by-play and Steve Vail as the color commentator.

For more information, please see the attached PDF document.