The West Coast Conference coaches picked BYU women’s volleyball to finish first in league play and named Amy Boswell, Whitney Young Howard and Alexa Gray to the Preseason All-WCC team Thursday.
The Cougars finished the 2014 season with a 16-2 WCC record, good for first place in league play by a three-match margin. BYU earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the national championship match for the first time in school history.
Following the 2014 conference campaign, Gray was named the WCC Player of the Year and added to the All-WCC First Team. Howard was named the WCC Defensive Player of the Year and added to the All-WCC First Team, while Boswell was named All-WCC Honorable Mention.
Additionally, Gray was named AVCA Second-Team All-America, Boswell AVCA All-America Honorable Mention and Howard Volleyball Magazine Second-Team All-America at the conclusion of last season.
Santa Clara was picked to finish second in the league with three first-place votes, while San Diego, Gonzaga and Loyola Marymount rounded out the top five.
This is the third-consecutive season where the Cougars were picked to finish atop the league.
WCC women’s volleyball officially begins Aug. 28, with the Cougars taking on Chicago State to begin the Women of Troy Baden Invitational at USC. For schedules, scores and standings visit the WCC website.
Royce Hinton is the men's and women's volleyball sports information director for BYU Athletic Communications.