Season Begins at UCSB Invitational

PROVO, Utah - The BYU men's volleyball team kicks off the 2012 season this weekend at the annual UCSB/asics Gaucho Invitational on Friday, Jan. 6, and Saturday, Jan. 7. The Cougars return this year as the winners of last year's tournament. 

The Cougars were recently ranked No. 1 in the Volleyball Magazine National poll and AVCA Preseason Poll, followed by No. 2 UC Irvine in both. The Anteaters are slated as BYU's first opponent in the Gaucho Invitational and are also the first MPSF opponent for the Cougars in 2012. 

A full schedule of this year's tournament is listed below. 

BYU returns three All-Americans in Robb Stowell, Futi Tavana and Taylor Sander, senior Joe Kauliakamoa and junior Russ Lavaja. 

No live stats are available for the tournament games.

There are two ticket options for attending the tournament: All-Session and Single Day passes. All-Session passes are $20 for adults and $15 for seniors, youth, and military. Single day passes are $15 for adults, and $12 for seniors, youth, and military. Tickets can be purchased online here or on-site before each match.

Fans visiting Gaucho Volleyball for the first time should park in Lot 27, located immediately in front of the Events Center (The Thunderdome).
 

Friday, Jan. 6

Match 1: UCSB vs. Ohio State (10 AM) – Rob Gym

Match 2: CSUN vs UCLA (10 AM) – Court 3 of Thunderdome

Match 3: LBSU vs Loyola (Chicago) (10 AM) – Court 2 of Thunderdome

Match 4: BYU vs UCI (10 AM) – Court 1 of Thunderdome

Match 5: Match 1 winner vs Match 2 winner (7 PM) – TBA

Match 6: Match 3 winner vs Match 4 winner (7 PM) – Court 1 of Thunderdome

Match 7: Match 1 loser vs Match 2 loser (7 PM) – TBA

Match 8: Match 3 loser vs match 4 loser (7 PM) – Court 2 of Thunderdome

Saturday, Jan. 7 - all matches at Rob Gym

Match 9: Match 7 loser vs match 8 loser (11 AM)

Match 10: Match 7 winner vs Match 8 winner (1:30 PM)

Match 11: Match 5 loser vs match 6 loser (4 PM)

Match 12 (Championship) : Match 5 winner vs Match 6 winner (6:30 PM)

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