BYU opens season against two Top 15 opponents

Week One Match Notes

PROVO, Utah  – No. 5 BYU men’s volleyball opens the 2019 season at home this week against two Top 15 foes in No. 7 Ohio State and No. 14 Ball State. The Cougars host the three-time national champion Buckeyes in the Smith Fieldhouse on Thursday before the Cardinals visit Provo on Saturday. Both matches start at 7 p.m. MST.

No. 5 BYU (0-0)

• The Cougars return 13 players from last year’s roster, including AVCA Newcomer of the Year Gabi Garcia Fernandez and Freshman All-American Felipe Ferreira de Brito.

• BYU was picked to finish second behind UCLA in the MPSF preseason poll after winning the regular season title and MPSF championship last season .

• The team was ranked No. 5 in the AVCA preseason coaches poll after reaching the Final Four last season, where they lost to UCLA in the semifinal.

No. 7 Ohio State (2-0)

• BYU welcomes the Buckeyes to the Smith Fieldhouse Thursday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m MST.

• Ohio State is coming off of two wins at home against Charleston, who they swept, and Penn State. The trip to Provo will be the first road game for the Buckeyes.

• The series history favors BYU at 12-6 overall, including a win over a No. 1 ranked Buckeyes team in Columbus, Ohio, last season. The two teams faced each other in back-to-back national championship matches in 2016 and 2017. BYU and Ohio State have each won the NCAA title three times. 

No. 14 Ball State (2-0)

• The Cardinals take on the Cougars Saturday, Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. MST in the Smith Fieldhouse.

• Ball State won its first two matches against Princeton and New Jersey Institute of Technology last week, and plays at UC Irvine and Stanford this week before traveling to Provo on Saturday.

• BYU is 11-4 against the Cardinals in the all-time series, including a win last season in Muncie, Indiana, when the Cardinals were also ranked No. 14.

Links to video streams and live stats for the week can be found on the BYU men’s volleyball schedule page.