MALIBU, Calif. — The No. 8 BYU men's volleyball team travels to No. 8 Pepperdine for a pair of matches on March 22-23 in the Firestone Fieldhouse, with live coverage of both matches on ESPN+.
COUGARS (11-7, 2-4)
After splitting a pair of games against Stanford, the Cougars moved down one spot to No. 7 in Week 10 of the AVCA Coaches Poll. They then remained at No. 7 in Week 11 following a bye-week. Overall, BYU has been ranked in the top-10 since February 6, 2023 for a total of 23 consecutive weeks in a row.
Senior opposite Kupono Browne leads the Cougars with 26 aces on the season. Browne also has 67 career aces in three season with BYU, recently surpassing Rob Stowelll and holding the record for 10th most in BYU men's volleyball history (rally scoring era).
WAVES (16-5, 4-3)
Pepperdine is 16-5 on the season, coming off a 3-0 sweep over Concordia. The Waves are currently riding a six-game win streak, dating back to February 28, 2024.
Pepperdine is led by outside hitter and graduate student Cole Ketrzynski who leads the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in kills with 246, with an average of 3.73 kills per set. Before Pepperdine, Ketrzynski spent four years at UCLA and competed in the 2023 NCAA Championship match.
COUGARS VS. WAVES
In the last five years, BYU leads against the Waves with a 10-2 record since 2019. Most recently, the Cougars secured two wins over Pepperdine in Provo from March 24-25, with both matches going to five sets.
Pepperdine was predicted to finish sixth in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation this season, with the Cougars being chosen to finish third along with GCU.
BROADCAST INFO
- Friday, March 22 at 6 p.m. PDT on ESPN+
- Saturday, March 23 at 5 p.m. PDT on ESPN+