No. 24 volleyball returns home for two conference matchups

PROVO, Utah – The BYU women’s volleyball team heads home to the Smith Fieldhouse to take on conference foes Santa Clara and San Francisco on Thursday and Saturday.

The Cougars improved to 12-3 (5-0 WCC) last week with a four-set road win against Pepperdine and a thrilling five-set road victory over Loyola Marymount. BYU remains the only undefeated team in West Coast Conference play.

The Cougars will face the Santa Clara Broncos (7-7, 2-3 WCC) on Thursday, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m. MDT. This will be the sixth matchup between the two schools, with each squad winning on its home court in 2012. BYU leads the overall series 4-1.

Santa Clara finished 20-12 (9-7 WCC) and fourth in conference play in the 2012 season.

On Saturday, the Cougars will face San Francisco (7-8, 3-2 WCC) at 1 p.m. MDT. BYU is undefeated against the Dons, including a series sweep last season, and leads the overall series 6-0.

San Francisco returns three starters plus its libero to a team that finished 16-13 (7-9 WCC) in 2012.

The Cougars are ranked this week in the AVCA Coaches Poll for the first time since Sept. 2, 2013 at No. 24.

Thursday’s match will be broadcast live on BYUtv, and Saturday’s match will be broadcast live on BYU Radio. Links to live stats can be found on the BYU women’s volleyball schedule page.