PROVO -- BYU men's volleyball coach Shawn Patchell has announced the schedule for the upcoming 2008 season.
For the first time since 2004 the Cougars will begin their regular season on the road, as the team will play five consecutive road games before hosting its home-opener against Cal-Baptist Jan. 25.
The 2008 season also features a road series against defending National Champion UC Irvine Feb. 15-16, a home stand beginning at the end of February and extending into early March that will pit BYU against Stanford, Pacific and Pepperdine, and a trip to Honolulu to face off against Hawaii April 4-5.
In addition to these marquee matchups, Patchell said his squad has circled on its calendar a January trip to IPFW, a team that upset then-No. 1 ranked Pepperdine in the NCAA Final Four last year.
"The team is looking good and working very hard preparing for our arduous schedule," Patchell said. "Our goal is to play in Irvine at the NCAA Championships in May, which would be especially sweet for me since it is my hometown."
Preseason play will include a BYU-hosted tournament in early November that will have the Cougars facing off against Cal State Northridge and Utah Valley. In December BYU will participate in the Long Beach Pyramid Tournament in Long Beach, Calif.
"We have a very competitive preseason followed by the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, the toughest college men's volleyball conference," Patchell said. "We look forward to hosting our first fall tournament with MPSF contender CSUN and a very competitive club from UVSC that will compete for a national championship in their conference."
Scroll over the schedule link at the top of the page and click "2008" for the complete schedule.