Season Opens Tuesday at Portland

PROVO, Utah – No. 16 BYU women’s volleyball will open its 2020-21 season with a two-match series against Portland at the Chiles Center Jan. 26-27.

The first match is set to start at 12 p.m. PST on Tuesday, Jan. 26, and the second match will take place at the same time on the following day, Wednesday, Jan. 27. Both matches will be streamed on the WCC Network.

No. 16 BYU Cougars (0-0, 0-0 WCC)

BYU ranked No. 16 in the AVCA preseason poll, marking 106-straight weeks of appearing in the national poll
Since NCAA play began in 1981, the Cougars are 32-7 in season openers
BYU finished No. 17 in the final poll after finishing with a 26-5 record and claiming its eighth-straight NCAA Tournament berth
The squad features 11 returnees, including AVCA All-America honoree Kennedy Eschenberg, and four newcomers
The Cougars went 16-2 in WCC play to finish second in the conference last season
The WCC coaches picked the Cougars to finish second in the league in the preseason poll while selecting middle blocker Kennedy Eschenberg, outside hitter Taylen Ballard-Nixon and setter Whitney Bower to the All-WCC Preseason Team
BYU's 2020-21 Season Preview
BYU Match Notes

Series Information:

BYU is 17-1 all-time against Portland
The Cougars have swept the Pilots seven-straight times since losing their only match in the series in 2016

Portland Pilots (0-0, 0-0 WCC)

Portland is led by first-year head coach Megan Burton
This year’s roster features five newcomers and eight returning members from the 2019 squad
The Pilots played two exhibition matches this season, losing 3-1 to No. 8 Washington and sweeping Corban
Portland ended the 2019 season with an 11-18 overall record
The Pilots finished 10th of the 2019 WCC standings after going 3-15 in league play
The WCC coaches picked the Pilots to finish 10th in the league in the preseason poll and selected outside hitter Liz Reich to the All-WCC Preseason Team

Broadcast Information – January 26