BYU and Utah Volleyball Ranked #8 and #19 Respectively in AVCA Poll

BYU and Utah Volleyball Ranked #8 and #19 Respectively in AVCA Poll

SALT LAKE CITY-Late Wednesday, both BYU and Utah women’s volleyball were ranked in the Top 20 of the initial American Volleyball Coaches Association poll.

The Cougars, who check in at #8, have been ranked in the top 25 annually since 1999 when they checked in at #7.

Since 1982, BYU volleyball has been ranked in the Top 25 29 times, including 14 Top 10 appearances.

The Cougars will face numerous other Top 25 foes on the season, including #1 Stanford August 31, #10 USC September 7 and the #19 Utes September 13.

The Cougars look for big things from senior outside hitter Roni Jones-Perry of West Jordan, Utah and junior libero Mary Lake of Palm Springs, Calif.

These stars for the Cougars are both first-team preseason all-WCC performers.

BYU head coach Heather Olmstead is entering her fourth season at the helm and sports an impressive 87-11 (.888) record.

She has led the Cougars to three WCC titles and three trips to the regional semifinals.

As for the Utes, this is their seventh preseason ranking in program history. Other teams ranked in the Pac-12 include the aforementioned Stanford Cardinal and USC Trojans as well as UCLA (#11), Colorado (#15), Washington (#17) and Oregon (#18).

The Utes return seven letterwinners from last season’s 24-10 squad that made a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Among these are four starters and a libero.