The Cougars were 27-5, hosted an NCAA Tournament regional and finished ranked No. 18 in the final polls last season.

BYU came in at No. 16 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)/Taraflex preseason poll, which was released on Monday.

The Cougars have been ranked in the AVCA Top 25 for 159 consecutive polls, so the expectations are familiar. BYU is replacing its all-time leader in assists in the rally scoring era (Whitney Bower), its leading hitter from last season (Erin Livingston), its top middle blocker (Whitney Llarenas) and its top two defensive specialists (Kamaile Hiapo and Aria McComber).

Three other Big 12 teams earned Top 25 rankings: Kansas (No. 13), Arizona State (No. 17) and Baylor (No. 23). The Cougars also play No. 10 Oregon and No. 14 Georgia Tech in the preseason. Last year’s NCAA champion, former Big 12 opponent Texas, is No. 1 in the polls and will play this season in the Southeastern Conference.

BYU has both begun and ended each of head coach Heather Olmstead’s eight seasons ranked in the top 18. The Cougars have an exhibition match Wednesday at Southern Utah and open the preseason on August 30 in the doTERRA Classic at the Smith Fieldhouse with matches against Fairfield and Southeastern Louisiana.

Men’s volleyball adds JC transfer

BYU men’s volleyball head coach Shawn Olmstead has announced the addition of transfer Cole Hauser from Orange Coast College.

“We are excited about the addition of Cole to our roster,” said Olmstead. “He brings good experience to our team having spent the last two years at OCC. That team has been competitive each year which will help him acclimate to our program. His personality is a great fit for our group and he’s dedicated to helping the team in any way possible.”

Hauser is a 6-foot-3 outside hitter from San Diego, California. He competed for two years at Orange Coast, totaling 235 kills, 44 blocks and 91 digs. In the 2024 season, Hauser added a team-high 159 kills on a .375 hitting percentage for the Pirates, averaging 3.18 kills per set.

Hauser and the Pirates were named the 2024 3C2A Men’s Volleyball State Champions following their sweep of San Diego Mesa College in April where Hauser contributed nine kills on a .429 clip. He also was part of the 2023 3C2A Men’s Vollleyball State Championship squad with the Pirates.

In June, Olmstead announced the signing of outside hitter Lucas Torres, a native of Brazil, from Vancouver Island University in Canada.

In May, former Hawaii outside hitter Keoni Thiim committed to play for the Cougars.

BYU graduated three seniors (Kupono Browne, Gavin Julien and Jon Stanley) from a team that finished 16-9 overall and No. 7 in the final AVCA coaches poll.