No. 10 BYU hosts No. 13 UC Irvine in first home series of 2022

No. 10 BYU hosts No. 13 UC Irvine in first home series of 2022No. 10 BYU hosts No. 13 UC Irvine in first home series of 2022

PROVO, Utah — No. 10 BYU men’s volleyball will host No. 13 UC Irvine in a two-match series in the Smith Fieldhouse starting Thursday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. MST.

In the all-time series between these two teams, BYU leads 50-20. The Cougars last faced the Anteaters in January 2020, when BYU picked up two 3-1 victories. 

No. 10 Brigham Young University Cougars (0-2, 0-0 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation)

  • BYU finished the 2021 season with a 20-4 record, its eighth MPSF Conference championship title, a trip to the NCAA national championship game and a No. 2 national ranking
  • This is head coach Shawn Olmstead’s seventh season
  • The Cougars welcome back 11 returners and have added nine newcomers
  • Off the Block recognized junior Davide Gardini as preseason First Team All-American
  • In its season opener, BYU fell 3-0 to Penn State in back-to-back matches in University Park, Pennsylvania

No. 13 University of California Irvine Anteaters (3-1, 0-0 Big West Conference)

  • No. 12 ranking in the AVCA preseason coaches' poll
  • The Anteaters are coming off two wins against Harvard (3-0) and Stanford (3-1)
  • Freshman Hilir Henno made his Anteater debut and earned Big West Defensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week
  • UC Irvine finished its 2021 season with a 2-14 overall record and a 2-8 conference record
  • At the end of last season, Cole Gillis, Francesco Sani, Dylan Zhai and Connor Campbell were all named to the Big West All-Freshman team, the most first year honorees in Anteater history

BROADCAST INFORMATION – Jan. 21

BROADCAST INFORMATION – Jan. 22

ATTENDANCE INFORMATION

Consistent with current BYU requirements, all in attendance will need to provide proof of vaccination or proof of a negative COVID test upon entry. Masks will also be required, regardless of vaccination status. Find more details at byu.edu/coronavirus.