byu mvb: concordia irvine preview
PROVO, UTAH — BYU men’s volleyball (5-11) returns to the Smith Fieldhouse this weekend to host Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) opponent Concordia Irvine (8-6) in hopes of their first MPSF win of the 2022 season. The matchup between BYU and CUI dates back to 2017. BYU currently leads the series with a 7-2 record.
So far, BYU has validated the phenomenon of home-court advantage as every win this season has been in the Smith Fieldhouse. However, BYU has yet to win a game on the road. Just last week, BYU lost to Southern California (USC) 3-1 on Friday and 3-0 on Saturday in the Galen Center.
Saturday’s sweep was USC’s first regular-season sweep in the series against BYU since 2011. USC hit .523 in Saturday’s match and improved to 13-3 overall and 3-1 in the MPSF, while BYU hit only .076 and fell to 5-11 overall and 0-4 in the MPSF. The Cougar’s nine game losing streak is the longest in BYU men’s volleyball history since losing 14 straight in 1990.
Concordia Irvine (CUI) had a busy week, having played four games in the past seven days. CUI upset formerly ranked #14 Stanford last Thursday 3-2 and Friday 3-1. However, CUI fell to 8-6 overall and 2-2 in the MPSF after losses to UC Irvine 2-3 on Saturday and UC San Diego 1-3 on Wednesday.
BYU is led by senior outside hitter, Davide Gardini. Nationally, Gardini ranks No. 13 in kills per set (3.75), No. 16 in points per set (4.31) and No. 21 in attacks per set (7.91). CUI’s stand out players include junior opposite hitter Uriel Batista and freshman middle blocker Max McCullough. Batista is ranked No. 14 in attacks per set (8.10) and McCullough is ranked No. 15 nationally in blocks per set (1.030).
Shawn Olmstead enters his 7th season as head coach of the BYU men’s volleyball program. Olmstead has led the Cougars to three NCAA national championship games in 2016, 2017, and 2021. He has also guided the Cougar’s to three MPSF titles. Currently, Olmstead is the winningest active coach in DI and DII NCAA Men’s Volleyball (minimum five seasons) with a .751 win percentage (as of February 25th, 2022).
Coaching his first season for CUI men’s volleyball program is former 3-time Olympian and gold medalist, Riley Salmon. Salmon previously served as the University of Jamestown’s head coach for three years before coming to Concordia in June 2021.
The matches will be Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 7 p.m. MST in the Smith Fieldhouse in Provo, Utah. The matches will be streamed on BYUtv.