A three-game series at Ohio and Indiana is the official NCAA debut for BYU's men's volleyball program.
The Cougars, who upgraded from club status this year, will play at Ohio State on Thursday, Ball State on Friday, and at Indiana-Purdue (Ft. Wayne) on Saturday. BYU will have a 10-man travel squad from its 16-man roster.Coach Carl McGown welcomes four players who return from last year's team which placed second in the national club tournament, after winning that tourney for three years in a row. Those four players are Rodney Cortez, Dave Johnson, Ross Burningham and Chris Rushing.
McGown trimmed an all-comers tryout in September from 48 hopefuls to 11, including the four former players. Four recruits came to the BYU campus, two from Norway and two from Canada. The two Norwegians are 25-year-old Gunnar Lindstoel, 6-6, and Skule Vagen. The Canadians are Kris Dukeshire and Ross McKeever Among those to walk-on were a pair of South Africans, Colin House, 6-8, and Warren Van Schalkwyk, 6-4.
McGown is unsure who will start at setter for the Cougars. Three Cougars are vying for the two outside hitter spots, Johnson, Vagen or McKeever. A sure starter at middle blocker position is Shawn Patchell, 6-6, but three other Cougars are contending for the other starting spot: House, Daniel Dahl, 6-6, or Jeff Arnold, 6-6.
"We've had 10 weeks of practice, but we've learned we have a lot of room for improvement from our extra season matches we played in a California tournament in November," says McGown.
Advance tickets can be purchased through the Marriott Center.
The Cougars open their home season on Jan. 19 when they host Pepperdine at 7:30 p.m.