Women's volleyball releases 2015 schedule

PROVO, Utah – BYU women’s volleyball head coach Heather Olmstead released the 2015 schedule, which includes matchups with seven 2014 NCAA tournament teams, Friday.

“We are excited about our schedule this year,” Olmstead said. “We will have some challenging nonconference matches that will help us prepare for a competitive West Coast Conference season.”

BYU begins the season in Southern California from Aug. 28-29, as it takes part in the Women of Troy Baden Invitational. Play commences with matches against Chicago State as well as North Carolina and USC. Both the Tar Heels and the Trojans competed in the 2014 NCAA tournament, with North Carolina advancing to the round of 8.

The Cougars follow that invite with another, the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic, in Saint Louis, Missouri, from Sept. 4-5. BYU will face off against the host, Saint Louis, in addition to Purdue and Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

A 12-match home win streak is on the line next as the Cougars return to the Smith Fieldhouse for the first home match of the year on Sept. 9 against Idaho State. Two days later, from Sept. 11-12, BYU will start a two-match home series with Oregon State. The Beavers advanced to the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament a season ago.

BYU will next look to win its fifth-consecutive Deseret First Duel when they take on Utah Sept. 17 in Salt Lake City. The Utes advanced to the round of 32 in the 2014 NCAA tournament. Another in-state battle follows on Sept. 19 with a match against cross-county foe Utah Valley, concluding nonconference play.

The Cougars will look to defend their WCC title when they begin league play on the road with a pair of matches against San Francisco and Santa Clara on Sept. 24 and 26. The first conference home match of the year will take place on a Tuesday – Sept. 29 – against Loyola Marymount. The Broncos and Lions each participated in last year’s NCAA tournament.

BYU then hits the road again for matches against rival San Diego on Oct. 2, Pacific on Oct. 8 and Saint Mary’s on Oct. 10. The Toreros also made the field of 64 in the NCAA tournament a year ago.

The Cougars next travel back to the Smith Fieldhouse for a pair of matches against Gonzaga and Portland on Oct. 15 and 17, respectively. Another road trip to California follows with matches at Pepperdine on Oct. 22 and at Loyola Marymount on Oct. 24.

San Diego returns to Provo on Oct. 30 for the lone match of the week before Saint Mary’s and Pacific come to town on Nov. 5 and 7. BYU will then take its final road trip of the regular season on Nov. 12 and 14 at Portland and at Gonzaga, respectively.

The Cougars finish the regular season with three home matches, the first of which will take place against Santa Clara on Nov. 19. San Francisco will then come to town on Nov. 21 before the senior night match against Pepperdine on Tuesday, Nov. 24.

BYUtv will broadcast six of BYU’s home matches, and the Pac-12 Network will broadcast two away matches. TheW.tv will stream other select home and away matches throughout the season.

For a complete list of match times and dates, visit the 2015 women’s volleyball schedule page.