Thirteen. Some might call it an unlucky number, but for the BYU men’s volleyball team, it defined a season. After a lackluster 5-4 start, the Cougars went on a 13-game winning streak, winning the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship and securing the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Although the Cougars fell to UCLA in the semis, the season revealed the team’s depth as injuries required underclassmen to step onto the court. “We tried to emphasize the importance and contribution of the underclassmen’s role,” says head coach Shawn L. Olmstead (BA ’05). “Everyone on this team played a role in our success.”
Olmstead—who was named the MPSF Coach of the Year—credits the season’s successes to cooperation on the court: “Everything that this team demonstrated was a direct reflection of a complete team effort. . . . [They] showed team character and team chemistry.”
