Volleyball Comes Back to Provo

PROVO -- The No. 1 ranked BYU men's volleyball team will put its perfect 5-0 record on the line at home for the first time in 2008 on Friday and Saturday against the No. 1 team in the NAIA, Cal Baptist, in the Smith Fieldhouse. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. MT.

BYU finished its 2007 regular season with an 11-1 (.917) record at the Smith Fieldhouse. The record was the fifth best mark in Cougar history behind the 1998 (11-0, 1.000), 2004 (16-1, .941), 1999 (15-1, .938), and 2006 (13-1, .929) seasons. BYU started 2007 with five consecutive home wins before losing to No. 2 UC Irvine when the two teams split two matches in Provo. The Cougars then ran off six straight wins to finish the season.

Cal Baptist is a perennial NAIA power and is currently ranked No. 1 in the NAIA. After winning its first nine matches in 2007, the Cougars lost four in a row with one of those losses coming at the hands of the Lancers in three games. However, the two teams met three times in 2007, and BYU won the first two contests in seven games (3-0, 3-1) in its first two matches of the season. The last and only time Cal Baptist won in Provo was in five games on Jan. 14, 2005.

Both matches will begin at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on BYU-TV. Live stats and live streaming video will also be available on the men's volleyball schedule page at www.byucougars.com/volleyball_m/. For more information, see the attached PDF notes.