MPSF Preseason Poll Picks Cougars Fourth

PROVO -- The BYU men’s volleyball team has been picked to finish fourth in the 2010 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Men’s Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll, announced Wednesday. The Cougars received 88 votes, including one first-place vote.

Since finishing the 2009 season with a 17-13 record and No. 7 national ranking, the Cougars return all their starters, including six seniors. The preseason went well for the Cougars, as they posted wins over Long Beach State, Grand Canyon, Long Beach City College, Arizona and Utah Valley. The team’s only losses came against the BYU alumni team which boasts several All-Americans and members of past national championship teams.

USC collected 112 points along with five first-place votes to earn the No. 1 ranking. Reigning national champions UC Irvine came in a close second with five first-place votes as well. Stanford followed in third place with 97 points. Pepperdine rounds out the top five.

The top eight finishers in the conference advance to the MPSF Playoffs, in hopes of advancing to the 2010 NCAA Championship held at Stanford on May 6-8.

The Cougars open the 2010 season at the UC Santa Barbara Elephant Bar Tournament on Jan. 8-9. This will mark the second consecutive year the Cougars begin their season at the tournament.

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2010 MPSF Men's Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll
Rank  Team            Points (1st-Place Votes)   2009 Record   2009 MPSF Finish
1     USC             112(5)                     21-11, 13-9   5 (MPSF Champion)
2     UC Irvine       110(5)                     27-5, 19-3    1 (NCAA Champion)
3     Stanford        97                         21-11, 14-8   4
4     BYU             88(1)                      17-13, 13-9   5
5     Pepperdine      82                         22-5, 18-4    2
6     UCLA            74(1)                      14-16, 10-12  8
7     Long Beach St.  58                         14-14, 11-11  7
8     CSUN            51                         24-7, 16-6    3
9     Hawaii          47                         9-18, 6-16    10
10    UC Santa Barbara29                         8-19, 4-18    11
11    UC San Diego    28                         13-15, 8-14   9
12    Pacific         16                         3-28, 0-22    12