BYU volleyball: Cougars get at-large bid to NCAA Tournament

BYU volleyball’s season will continue, after the Cougars received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday afternoon.

The last time BYU volleyball took to the court, the results weren’t pretty. BYU fell to Hawaii 3-0, getting swept out of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament.

But things got much better for the Cougars today, as they secured an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 3 seed.

The Cougars are currently 24-4 and will play No. 6 seed Barton College on May 2 in the play-in match. Barton College went 23-5 on the year, and the game will be at St. John Arena, home of the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The winner of BYU volleyball vs Barton will advance to play No. 2 seed Long Beach State. BYU split two games against LBSU, winning one match 3-2 and losing the other 3-0.

Next: Christian PoPoola bolts from BYU hoops

But getting to LBSU will be no easy task for the Cougars. Barton College is on a nine-match winning streak. Barton’s two best players are Greek brothers Angelos (an Off The Block Freshman All-American) and Vasilis Mandilaris. What’s also impressive is that Barton College’s volleyball program is just six years old. Jeff Lennox is the head coach of both the men’s and women’s teams.

All of the matchups are at Ohio State, since the Buckeyes are the No. 1 overall seed. Ohio State and BYU clashed in the title game last season, and BYU was swept. The Buckeyes are 30-2 on the year.

The Cougars now have about a week and a half to prepare for the Bulldogs and the Mandilaris brothers.

The National Championship game will air on ESPNU on May 6 at 5 PM.