PROVO, Utah – After winning the Gold & Blue Player’s Challenge last weekend, No. 10 BYU women’s volleyball returns to its home court Friday and Saturday to host the BYU Invitational.
The Cougars swept host West Virginia, IUPUI and Toledo to take the title. This week BYU will face off against No. 5 Washington, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and Utah Valley.
No. 5 Washington
- BYU’s first match will be against No. 5 Washington Friday night at 7 p.m. MDT. The Cougars are 12-0 against the Huskies having last won a five-set thriller in the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2007.
- The Huskies return six starters to this year’s squad who is off to a 3-0 start on the early season.
- In 2013, Washington advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA tournament before falling to eventual champion Penn State. They finished the season with a 32-3 overall record, including going 18-2 in conference play to win the Pac-12.
UMBC
- The Cougars will next face off against UMBC on Saturday at noon. The Retrievers are currently 4-0 after taking the Hawks Holiday Hullabaloo Tournament in Maryland.
- BYU has never played against UMBC in its history.
- The Retrievers return four starters from a team that went 19-12 and 9-5 in the America East Conference a year ago.
Utah Valley
- To conclude the BYU Invitational the Cougars will go up against in-state rival Utah Valley Saturday at 7 p.m. The Wolverines are 0-4 to begin their season.
- BYU holds an undefeated 11-0 record against Utah Valley, including a 3-1 victory in Orem, Utah, last season.
- The Wolverines return four starters and its libero to this year’s team after going 18-15 (11-5 WAC) last year.
VIDEO/STATS
BYU’s matches against Washington and UMBC will be televised live on BYUtv. The Saturday nightcap match against Utah Valley will be streamed live on TheW.tv. Links to live stats for all of the tournament’s matches can be found on the BYU women’s volleyball schedule page.