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BYU mens volleyball look to take top spot |
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JaredLloyd | Sunday, January 28, 2007, 10:26 pm
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Darnell Dickson
Daily Herald
There will be a new No. 1 in men’s college volleyball today, and it will almost certainly be the BYU Cougars.
No. 5 Pepperdine pulled off a 3-0 shocker over top-ranked UC Irvine on Saturday, winning 30-26, 30-27, 30-23 in just 85 minutes. That opens the door for undefeated and No. 2 BYU to move into the top spot. The Cougars swept both matches in this weekend’s Outrigger Invitational in Hawaii, beating Eastern power Penn State 3-0 and Midwestern contender Loyola-Chicago 3-0.
The AVCA/USA Today Coaches poll will come out today and the Volleyball Magazine poll on Tuesday. Both should have the Cougars at the top of the rankings.
BYU was ranked No. 1 in the country as recent as 2006, holding the top spot for four weeks before dropping two matches at UC Irvine. The Cougars finished eighth in the final 2006 poll.
BYU (4-0 MPSF, 8-0 overall) has been dominant in 2007, sweeping seven of its eight matches and winning 24 of 25 games.
The preseason was a time of transition for BYU. Head coach Tom Peterson resigned suddenly in August and BYU Director of Athletics Tom Holmoe appointed two former Cougars to be interim co-head coaches: Olympian Ryan Millar and BYU assistant coach Shawn Patchell. Besides the change at the top, BYU would be replacing its setter (Rob Nielsen), a talented middle blocker (Victor Batista) and its libero (Brian Rowley).
Returning in 2007 were outside hitters Ivan Perez and Yosleyder Cala, as well as one of the country’s best middle blockers in Russell Holmes. Millar and Patchell have integrated five freshmen — opposite hitter Robby Stowell, setter Yamil Perez, middle blocker Rodnei Santos, libero Joel Silva and outside hitter Andrew Stewart — and they have all contributed to the Cougars’ hot start.
On Friday and Saturday, BYU hosts UC Irvine in what was billed as a No. 1 vs. No. 2 battle. UC Irvine will likely fall to third in the polls but still present BYU’s stiffest test to date. Large crowds are expected for the weekend matches similar to when the Cougars played UCLA on Jan. 12 and 13. Nearly 12,000 fans filled the Smith Fieldhouse for matches that weekend.
BYU has won three NCAA titles (1999, 2001, 2004). This year’s Final Four will be hosted by Ohio State in Columbus on May 3-5.
Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson can be reached at 344-2555 or by e-mail at
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