2013 men's volleyball schedule announced

PROVO, Utah – The BYU men’s volleyball 2013 schedule was released this week with tough match-ups on the docket including 10 teams ranked in the 2012 AVCA Division I-II Final Poll.

The Cougars’ schedule is highlighted with 16 home matches. BYU hosts three teams from last year’s NCAA Final Four, including UC Irvine, USC and Lewis.

“We led the nation in home attendance last year, and in my opinion the Smith Fieldhouse is the best home-court environment in the country,” head coach Chris McGown said. “We have wonderful fans who understand the game of volleyball and are passionate about our players and our team, and we think they'll have a lot to cheer about this season."

BYU kicks off the 2013 campaign with a long home stand that includes five weekends of matches. The season opener brings Hawai’i to the Smith Fieldhouse Jan. 4, followed by matchups with 2012 NCAA Final Four participant Lewis and 2012 NCAA National Champion UC Irvine the following two weekends. UC San Diego then travels to Provo Jan. 19 before the Cougars finish out the month of January with a Thursday night showdown against Long Beach on Jan. 31.

BYU remains at home through the first two weeks of February, challenging Northridge, UC Santa Barbara and UCLA. The Cougars then travel to California for a brief stint on the road with matches against Pepperdine and 2012 NCAA Final Four participant USC on Feb. 15 and Feb. 16, respectively. BYU returns home for the last weekend of February, welcoming Pacific and Stanford.

"As in years past, we expect this season to be challenging due to the quality of the coaches and players in our conference,” McGown said. “A big change for us is that for the first time in the history of our program we will play a home-and-away schedule with each of the teams in our conference, meaning our fans will get to see every team in the league during the course of our season.”

The Cougars are back in California the first weekend of March to face UC Irvine and UC San Diego in the second half of their season. BYU returns home the 8th and 9th to welcome Cal Baptist. Continuing its back-and-forth travel, the Cougars find themselves on the road to take on Northridge March 22 and Long Beach March 23 before hosting Pepperdine and USC the last weekend of March.

BYU finishes out its season on the road with back-to-back weekends on the west coast. The Cougars visit UC Santa Barbara and UCLA the first weekend of April before traveling north to take on Pacific April 12 and Stanford April 13.

BYU finished 2012 third in the MPSF with a 24-7 record.

View the full schedule here.