No. 9 Cougars to host BYU Nike Invitational

PROVO, Utah – No. 9 BYU women’s volleyball is set to host the BYU Nike Invitational this week, hosting West Virginia, No. 1 Stanford and Wichita State.

Last Week

The Cougars traveled to Duke for a pair of matches. BYU swept the Blue Devils the first night and won in four the following evening to improve to 2-0 on the season.

West Virginia

• The Cougars won the only other meeting with the Mountaineers in a sweep on the road in 2014.
• West Virginia is off to a 2-1 start to the 2018 season after picking up wins against Georgia Southern and Connecticut at the WVU Invitational last week.
• The Mountaineers were picked to finish ninth in 2018 in a competitive Big 12 conference.
• West Virginia finished 21-13 (6-10, 5th) last year, advancing to the semifinals of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.

No. 1 Stanford

• BYU trails the series history with Stanford 8-4.
• The Cougars are 3-1 when playing the Cardinal at home and won the last meeting between the two schools in Provo in four sets.
• Stanford is off to a 2-0 start to the 2018 campaign with wins over American and Howard.
• The Cardinal received all possible first-place votes to repeat as the Pac-12 champions in the league’s preseason poll.
• Stanford finished 30-4 (19-1, 1st) in 2017, advancing to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament.
• BYU is 2-11 all-time against teams ranked No. 1. Their last win against a top-ranked squad was against Stanford at home in 2000.

(RV) Wichita State

• BYU is 1-1 all-time against Wichita State.
• The Cougars lost in Provo in 2010 before defeating the Shockers in five sets in 2012.
• Wichita State is 3-0 on the year, having defeated James Madison, Howard and VCU.
• The Shockers were picked to finish first in the AAC for the second-straight season.
• Wichita State went 29-4 (20-0, 1st) last year. The squad advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Matches

BYU will face West Virginia Thursday, Aug. 30, at 7 p.m. MDT at the Smith Fieldhouse. Wichita State and West Virginia will then compete Friday, Aug. 31, at 3 p.m. MDT. BYU and Stanford will then face off later that evening at 7 p.m. On Saturday, Sept. 1, at 10 a.m. MDT, Stanford and Wichita State will square off. West Virginia and Stanford will follow at 5 p.m. and BYU vs. Wichita State will complete the tournament with a slated start time that day of 7 p.m.

Video/Stats

The BYU vs. Stanford match will be televised nationally on BYUtv. All other matches, including those not featuring BYU, will be streamed online by TheW.tv. Links to live stats for all matches can be found on the BYU women’s volleyball schedule page.