BYU NewsNet - Cougar Volleyball to Host Quarterfinal Game

Creeping ever closer to the illustrious NCAA tournament, the No. 2 BYU men's volleyball team will host a playoff game this Saturday in the Smith Fieldhouse after the Cougars clinched a share of the regular-season Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title last weekend.

"The regular season is now over and we're excited to start anew as we go in post-season play," sophomore libero Leandro Justen said. "And as we head into the MPSF tournament we're hoping to play hard and win so as to accumulate momentum going into nationals."

Because No. 1 Long Beach State holds the tiebreaker over the Cougars, BYU is now the No. 2 seed in the MPSF tournament and will consequently host Saturday's quarterfinal match against the winner of a play-in match between No. 8 USC and No. 7 UC Irvine to be held today.

And coming off back-to-back sweeps over the Trojans of Southern California last weekend, the senior-led Cougar squad is definitely pumped for the chance to bring home victory.

"It really feels good," senior middle-blocker Trent Sorensen said. "We went off with a bang and we're heading off to the playoffs running."

After the quarterfinal held in Provo, both the semifinals and the championship match will be held at the Pyramid in Long Beach, Cali., April 24-26 and the NCAA Championship will then be held in Irvine, Cali., May 1-3.

In the wake of a successful MPSF season, the talented BYU volleyball team is peaking at just the right time to potentially go the distance and bring home their fourth National Championship.

And as they fight on to the end, friends, family and coaches alike are united in support of the last chapter of five seniors' fabled season.

"I can't say enough about them," BYU head coach Shawn Pathell said. "They're all characters and I love them because they work extremely hard and they're leaders. They put forth a tremendous amount of effort on the court and in the gym and I'd love to see them continue to play in May."

Won't we all.

Saturday's match will start at 7 p.m. and tickets will be available to the general public on the 17th.