BYU Volleyball Rises To No. 1 Ranking For First Time In Four Years

PROVO, Utah – After a pair of impressive performances against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, BYU Volleyball is the new number one ranked team in the NVA/AVCA Division I-II Men’s volleyball poll.

This week's @nvausa / AVCA Division I-II Men's Coaches Poll is out! https://t.co/bTRVZLBqu6 pic.twitter.com/An9PwuUWmA

— AVCA (@AVCAVolleyball) March 9, 2020

The number one ranking is the first time BYU has been atop the polls in four years. BYU earned the number one ranking by defeating previous No. 1 ranked team Hawaii in straight sets and then winning another two sets before suffering their first loss of the season in set number five against the Warriors.

Since 1990, the first season of BYU’s Men’s Volleyball program, the Cougars have been the nation’s number one ranked team a total of 76 times. BYU received 15 of the 16 first-place votes in this week’s poll, with the one non-BYU vote going to Hawaii.

No. 2 @BYUvolleyball sweeps No. 1 Hawaii.

Shawn Olmstead's squad is the best Men's Volleyball team in the land. #BYU #BYUMVB @kslsports pic.twitter.com/gCaTeYRWVQ

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) March 6, 2020

BYU is 17-1 this season after opening up the year with 17 consecutive victories. The second-best start to a season in program history. BYU is led by junior outside hitter Gabi Garcia Fernandez who has recorded 244 kills in 17 matches played.

BYU has six matches remaining in the season with the next game against No. 14 Stanford on the Farm at Maples Pavilion this Friday at 7 p.m. (MDT).

BYU sits atop Men’s Volleyball Rankings

1. BYU (15)

2. Hawaii (1)

3. UC Santa Barbara

4. Long Beach State

5. Lewis

T-6. UC Irvine

T-6. UC-San Diego

8. Pepperdine

9. UCLA

10. Penn State

11. Grand Canyon

12. Princeton

13. Concordia Irvine

14. Stanford

15. George Mason

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.

Follow KSL Sports coverage from the West Coast Conference Tournament on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.