Cougars travel to West Virginia for season opener

PROVO, Utah – No. 9 BYU women’s volleyball begins the 2014 season by heading to West Virginia to take part in the Gold & Blue Player’s Challenge on Friday and Saturday.

Competing with the Cougars in the invitational is host West Virginia, IUPUI and Toledo.

West Virginia

BYU begins play on Friday at 7 p.m. EDT against tournament host West Virginia. This is the first ever match between the two schools.

In 2013, the Mountaineers went 20-13 overall and 5-11 in Big 12 conference play – good for a sixth-place finish.

West Virginia returns five starters and its libero to this year’s squad.

IUPUI

The Cougars will next face off against IUPUI, a 2013 NCAA tournament competitor, Saturday morning at 11:30 a.m.

The Jaguars finished the 2013 season with a 19-14 overall record, including going 11-3 in Summit League play. Following the conference tournament championship, the team earned its first ever berth to the NCAA tournament.

IUPUI returns three starters and its libero for 2014.

The two teams have never before met.

Toledo

BYU concludes the Gold & Blue Player’s Challenge with a Saturday afternoon match against Toledo at 4:30 p.m.

The Rockets ended their 2013 campaign going 19-12 overall and 12-4 in MAC conference play. Toledo finished tied for first in West Division play and second overall.

Toledo returns just one starter for the 2014 season.

BYU leads the series with the Rockets 1-0 after picking up a 3-1 victory in 1999.

VIDEO/STATS

Links to live stats for all matches and a video stream for Friday’s West Virginia match can be found on the BYU women’s volleyball schedule page.