No. 6 seed BYU faces Pepperdine in the MPSF Men's Volleyball Tournament opener

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PROVO, Utah — No. 6 seed BYU prepares to face No. 3 seed Pepperdine in the quarterfinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Men's Volleyball Tournament on Wednesday, April 20 at 5 p.m. PST, hosted by UCLA in the Pauley Pavilion.

Teams that win on Wednesday will advance to the semifinals on Thursday. The championship match will take place on Saturday, April 23.

The Cougars and the Waves last faced each other in March in Malibu, California. There, BYU picked up a 3-2 on the first night, but fell to Pepperdine 3-0 the second night. 

No. 6 Brigham Young University Cougars (8-16, 3-9 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation)

  • Last weekend, BYU faced No.1 UCLA in the Smith Fieldhouse, posting two losses (3-1, 3-2).
  • Nationally, BYU ranks No. 16 in hitting percentage (.288), No. 17 in assists per set (11.30), No. 18 in kills per set (11.97) and No. 21 in blocks per set (1.995).
  • Senior outside hitter Davide Gardini ranks No. 8 in the NCAA in kills per set (4.09), No. 11 in points per set (4.71), No. 14 in attacks per set (8.49) and No. 24 in hitting percentage (.341).
  • BYU finished the 2022 regular season with an 8-16 overall record and 3-9 record in the MPSF.
  • The Cougars 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.

No. 3 Pepperdine University Waves (16-9, 7-5 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation)

  • Pepperdine faced Stanford in Malibu last weekend and posted two wins (3-0, 3-2)
  • The Waves finished the 2022 regular season with a 16-9 overall record and a 7-5 record in the MPSF.
  • Nationally, the Waves rank No. 3 in assists per set (12.50), No. 5 in kills per set (13.06), No. 7 in hitting percentage (.333), No. 11 in aces per set (1.57), No. 14 in match winning percentage (.640) and No. 15 in blocks per set (2.217).
  • Sophomore setter Bryce Dvorak ranks No. 4 in the NCAA in assists per set (10.76) and No. 8 in aces per set (.522)
  • Graduate middle blocker Austin Wilmot ranks No. 11 in the NCAA in hitting percentage (.418) and No. 13 in blocks per set (1.022).

BROADCAST INFORMATION – April 20