Cougars Begin NCAA Tourney on Friday in Provo

PROVO, Utah - The No. 4-seeded BYU women's volleyball team is set to begin NCAA tournament play on Friday, Nov. 30, against Stony Brook in the Smith Fieldhouse. 

The match will begin at 7 p.m. MT and will air live on BYUtv and BYUtv.org. Preceding the match, Utah and Denver will face off at 4 p.m. MT. The winner of the two matches will then play Saturday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m. MT.

BYU is the No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament, the Cougars' highest seed since the current tournament format began in 2000. The tournament appearance is BYU's 31st all-time, seventh-most in NCAA Division I history.

The Cougars have reached at least the Sweet Sixteen of the tournament each of the last six years, including advancing to the national championship game in 2014. As a top-four seed, BYU would host the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight matches next week for the first time should the Cougars win two matches this weekend.

BYU currently has a 20-match win streak in the Smith Fieldhouse, including all 13 games played this year. Since 2012, the Cougars are 94-3 at home. BYU also has not lost a home NCAA tourney match since 1994, winning 17 straight since that time. Overall, BYU is 26-6 in NCAA tournament home matches.

BYU has never faced Stony Brook or Denver. The Cougars have a 72-30 all-time record against Utah after sweeping the Utes earlier this season in Provo.

The Cougars are led by WCC Player of the Year Roni Jones-Perry who is No. 4 in the nation in points per set (5.47) and No. 10 in kills per set (4.71) in the nation. BYU swept the WCC awards this season with junior libero Mary Lake winning Defender of the Year for the second-straight season, middle blocker Heather Gneiting winning Freshman of the Year and Heather Olmstead winning Coach of the Year.