BYU ranked No. 8 in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll

2018 AVCA Division I Coaches Preseason Poll

2018 BYU Women's Volleyball Schedule

PROVO, Utah – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) ranked BYU women’s volleyball No. 8 in the nation in the preseason coaches poll released Wednesday.

The Cougars – ranked in the preseason top 25 each year since 2013 – earned their best preseason ranking since 1999 when they came in at No. 7. BYU has been ranked in the preseason poll 29 times since 1982, including 14 appearances in the top 10.

With 1,183 points, BYU is one of two WCC teams in the preseason top 25. San Diego is ranked No. 14 with 632 points.

In addition to San Diego, BYU will play three other teams ranked in the preseason top 25, including No. 1 ranked Stanford in Provo (Aug. 31), No. 10 USC in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Sept. 7), and No. 19 Utah in Provo (Sept. 13). Marquette and Wichita State, also on the 2018 schedule, are receiving votes with 163 and 103 points, respectively.

BYU finished the 2017 season with a 30-3 overall record (17-1 in league play), a fourth-straight West Coast Conference title and a sixth-straight trip to the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament. The Cougars were ranked No. 9 in the final AVCA rankings, their sixth-straight season finishing in the top 15.

The 2018 BYU roster features five players who earned All-WCC honors in 2017, including: senior outside hitter Roni Jones-Perry (First Team), junior libero Mary Lake (First Team), junior outside hitter McKenna Miller (Honorable Mention), senior setter Lyndie Haddock-Eppich (Honorable Mention) and sophomore middle blocker Kennedy Eschenberg (Freshman Team). Jones-Perry was also named to the AVCA All-America Third Team while Lake was the WCC Defensive Player of the Year and Eschenberg was WCC Co-Freshman of the Year.

Head coach Heather Olmstead enters her fourth season as BYU's head coach. She has a career record of 87-11 and has led the Cougars to three WCC titles and three trips to the NCAA Regional Semifinals.

The Cougars open the 2018 regular season at Duke on Friday, Aug. 24, at 7:30 p.m. EDT.