PROVO, Utah — BYU men's volleyball head coach Shawn Olmstead has unveiled the 2023 schedule which features 14 home games at the Smith Fieldhouse.
"It's an exciting day," said Olmstead. "We've looked at a lot of opportunities to allow other teams to play in the Smith Fieldhouse. We'll start with some great competition against McKendree and Lewis. Our team has improved tremendously in the offseason."
The Cougars begin their 2023 season with the hosting of a tournament, including Lewis University, McKendree University and the University of California, Irvine. On January 6th, UC Irvine will face Lewis at 4 p.m. MST and McKendree will face UC Irvine at 4 p.m. MST on January 7th in the Smith Fieldhouse. BYU will play McKendree, for the first time in program history, in its season opener at 7 p.m. MST on January 6th. Since it is not a true round-robin tournament, BYU will only face two out of the three teams, with its second game of the year on January 7th at 7 p.m. MST versus Lewis.
With 12 total games in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) play, BYU will also compete in 12 other games against teams such as Fairleigh Dickinson, Ball State and UCSB.
In March, BYU will host six consecutive home games including matchups against the three-time national champions Ohio State and reigning MPSF champions Pepperdine, as well as MPSF foe USC.
BYU finished with a 8-17 record in its rebuilding year during 2021. This season's roster includes nine freshmen, five sophomores, four juniors and three seniors. The Cougars welcome one transfer, senior setter Heath Hughes from Grand Canyon University, and six newcomers to their 2023 roster.