2010 Men's Volleyball Schedule Released

PROVO -- BYU head coach Shawn Patchell has released the 2010 schedule which will include matchups against some of the premier programs in the country, including all but one of the teams which finished the 2009 season ranked in the nation’s top 10.

As members of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, the Cougars’ conference schedule increases in difficulty year after year. Since BYU began playing NCAA volleyball in 1990, an MPSF team has won the national title every year except 1994, 2003 and 2008. The most recent team to claim the honor was UC Irvine in 2009 when BYU hosted the national championships in the Smith Fieldhouse.

The 2010 season will kickoff as BYU travels to the UC Santa Barbara Elephant Bar Tournament on Jan. 8-9. This will mark the second consecutive year the Cougars open their season at the tournament, after going 1-2 last year with opening round losses to No. 8 Stanford and No. 6 UC Irvine.

The Cougars’ home opener will feature Pacific on Jan. 15 and 16, a team they faced three times in 2009, posting a 3-0 record. The Tigers have failed to ever win a match in Provo, dropping the last 15 dating back to 1993.

Stanford will visit Provo the following weekend, Jan. 22 and 23. Last year after pulling out a tough 3-2 win on the first night of play, the Cougars suffered a quick sweep the second night to split the weekend series. Despite the loss, second-team All-MPSF honoree Futi Tavana recorded a season-high 15 kills against the Cardinal.

Following the matchup with Stanford, the Cougars hit the road for six weeks, starting with a visit to UCLA on Jan. 29 and 30, then to reigning national champion UC Irvine the following weekend. BYU split matches with both teams last season.

After a week off, BYU heads back to California to visit UC San Diego on Feb. 19 and 20. The Tritons came to Provo in 2009, suffering back-to-back sweeps at the hands of the Cougars. Outside hitter Andrew Stewart led the team with double-digit kills in both wins.

The long road trip concludes with some island hopping for two matches against Hawai’i on Feb. 26 and 27. The first match will be played at the Stan Sheriff Center on the University of Hawai’i Manoa campus on the island of Oahu, while the second will be played at War Memorial Gym on Maui the following day.

After playing away from home for a month and a half, the Cougars return to the comforts of the Smith Fieldhouse to host Pepperdine on March 5 and 6.

A break from MPSF play will come the following weekend as BYU faces two Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association teams at the Long Beach Tournament. It will play two-time national champions Penn State on March 12, followed by St. Francis the next night.

The final part of the season will see the Cougars playing 4-of-5 weekends at home. Up first will be back-to-back weekends hosting USC and UC Santa Barbara. The Trojans come to Provo for the first time since dropping a 3-2 contest to UC Irvine in the 2009 national championship match. On March 19 and 20 BYU will try to vindicate two losses suffered at USC last season. The Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara fly into Provo on March 26 and 27. Last season both contests between BYU and UC Santa Barbara went to five sets, with each team notching a victory.

Following the home stand with the Trojans and Gauchos, the Cougars hit the road one final time for two matches at Long Beach State on April 1 and 2. Last season in Provo, BYU won two hard-fought, five-set matches. Opposite Kent Tuttle led the charge, recording a combined 41 kills over the two nights.

The regular season concludes with two weekends at home against Cal Baptist and Cal State Northridge. Taking a break from conference play, Cal Baptist comes to Provo on April 9 and 10 after defeating the Cougars in their home opener last season. The team will then honor its six seniors when Cal State Northridge visits the Smith Fieldhouse to end the regular season on April 16 and 17. The Cougars and Matadors met three times in 2009, twice during regular MPSF action, as well as in the MPSF quarterfinals. CSUN defeated BYU in all three matches.

Returning all its starters from the 2009 season, this year’s BYU team is looking to take advantage of its senior leadership and make a strong run for the MPSF championship. Having earned three NCAA titles (1999, 2001, 2004) the Cougars are no strangers to national success. They hope to take advantage of a heavy home schedule to end the season, launching them into a rewarding postseason.