PROVO — If it's time for BYU to start a new men's volleyball season, it's time for Cal-Baptist to make its annual appearance.

For the second time in as many years, BYU opens its season with a pair of weekend matches against the NAIA powerhouse. And it's the third straight year the Cougars have opened at home against the Lancers.

Today's and Saturday's matches start at 7 p.m. at the Smith Fieldhouse.

The Lancers won't be the only familiar faces on the Fieldhouse Court, as the Cougars — selected No. 2 in the preseason CSTV/AVCA national rankings and No. 2 in the preseason Mountain Pacific Sports Federation coaches poll — return All-American middle blocker Russell Holmes and All-MPSF selections Ivan Perez and Yosleyder Cala as the featured hitters.

The matches will be the first for the Cougars under Shawn Patchell and Ryan Millar, a pair of former BYU standouts who were named co-head coaches on an interim basis following the late-August resignation of former head coach Tom Peterson.

Patchell was previously Peterson's assistant for four years, while Millar was a multi-year U.S. National team member who enjoyed a lengthy pro volleyball career internationally and had joined the Cougar staff about a month before Peterson's departure.

BYU is 4-1 all-time against Cal-Baptist. The Cougars' sole loss was a five-game defeat in the 2005 home opener.

The three-time defending NAIA national champion Lancers come into the weekend series having lost Wednesday at top-ranked UC Irvine, the defending MPSF regular-season champion.

After the season-opening series, the Cougars move straight into Mountain Pacific competition by playing host to defending champion UCLA on Jan. 12 and 13.

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