This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
BYU men's volleyball coach Chris McGown was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association 2013 Men's Division I-II National Coach of the Year.
The first-seeded Cougars kick off the NCAA tournament Thursday at 9 p.m. (MDT) against No. 4-seed Penn State at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.
McGown, also named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Coach of the Year, led the Cougars to their first NCAA Final Four appearance since 2004 and a 25-4 overall record entering the NCAA tournament. BYU held the No. 1 national ranking in the AVCA poll for 11 of the 15 regular season weeks, including the final seven and finished the season with a 21-3 conference record and won both the MPSF regular season and tournament titles.
BYU recorded 13 sweeps during the year, including in the MPSF championship match against Long Beach State. The Cougars went the entire season without back-to-back losses and rode a 12-match win streak between Feb. 16 through April 5. BYU went undefeated in March for only the second time in program history and dropped just four sets the entire month.
McGown, who is in just his second season at the helm for BYU, has compiled a 49-11 record. With an NCAA semifinal victory this Thursday, BYU's 26th win will be the third most all-time for the program and most since '04, its last national title season.