The season unfolded almost exactly like we expected. I think we exceeded a lot of the expectations we had put on us entering the year a little bit, but we're mostly at where I was expecting. – BYU men's volleyball coach Chris McGown
PROVO — It was a season fraught with inconsistency, along with an earlier than normal exit from the postseason, but overall BYU men's volleyball coach Chris McGown ended the season encouraged. The reason? His relatively inexperienced team largely met, and even surpassed, expectations.
"The season unfolded almost exactly like we expected," McGown said. "I think we exceeded a lot of the expectations we had put on us entering the year a little bit, but we're mostly at where I was expecting."
The Cougars finished the year with a 17-10 overall record and a first-round exit in the MPSF tournament. Uncommon territory for a team that had punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament in 2013 and again in 2014.

A big reason for the dropoff was McGown having to rely on a lot of inexperienced underclassmen, who eventually molded into some very promising players.
"We had a lot of new guys on the floor, guys who came on and really played better and better as the year went on," McGown said. "We sustained some critical injuries to some key guys but had some guys step up in place of them, which you love to see as a coach."
The underclassmen who stepped up in a big way included freshman Brenden Sander, the younger brother of former Cougar great Taylor Sander, sophomore Jake Langlois and junior Matt Underwood, among several others. Others, such as sophomore Tim Dobbert, had their season cut short due to injury, but are expected to contribute moving forward to 2016.
Overall the Cougars graduated just three seniors (Phil Fuchs, Josue Rivera and Jaylen Reyes) off the 2015 team, although their contributions will be missed.
"Jaylen Reyes was a great leader for us and Phil Fuchs, it was great to see him finish so strong as a senior. We'll miss all our seniors, but yeah, it's exciting that we're returning so much talent."
The potential of all the returning talent was well-noted during certain stretches, including consecutive wins against then-No. 1-ranked Hawaii to end the regular season.
"I was proud of how the guys kept working despite some setbacks and they really bought into working hard every day to become great players and a great team," McGown said.
The collective work ethic brought about a certain camaraderie that benefited everyone involved.
"I think the guys really, really cared for each other and the team dynamic was wonderful," McGown said. "They practiced hard, they pushed each other, and over and over all I heard was, 'I love my teammates. I love this team.' And that's pretty unique to have. There weren't the personality conflicts you have with other teams."
That group of players will begin offseason workouts and return with raised expectations for 2016. Given the progress achieved in 2015, McGown feels his team is in a good spot to continue its upward trend.
"I really like the attitude and the talent," he said. "We're used to competing for a national championship every year here, that's the expectation. This last year, it was a rebuilding year, but I feel we should be able to continue to improve and play that much better next year should guys keep improving and working like they should."
Email: bgurney@desnews.com
Twitter: @BrandonCGurney