PROVO, Utah – The West Virginia University volleyball team embarks on its first road trip of the season this weekend, as the Mountaineers (2-1) head to Provo, Utah, to face three teams which made the NCAA Tournament last season at the BYU Nike Invitational, inside Smith Fieldhouse on BYU's campus, from Thursday, Aug. 30 to Saturday, Sept. 1.
 
Traveling to Utah for the first time in their 44-year history, the Mountaineers will square off with host No. 9 BYU (2-0) at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday before taking on Wichita State (3-0) in a 5 p.m. ET tilt on Friday. West Virginia will conclude the three-day tournament with a 7 p.m. ET match against No. 1 Stanford (2-0) on Saturday.
 
"This weekend is a big challenge for us," fourth-year coach Reed Sunahara said. "I was disappointed in the way we played last Saturday. Wright State did a nice job exposing us, but now, we have to fix that. Stanford is No. 1 for a reason. BYU is up there, and Wichita State is a good program historically. It's going to be a tough tournament."
 
Sunahara is known for making a tough preseason schedule. Last season, West Virginia traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota, going head-to-head with No. 2 Minnesota at the 2017 Diet Coke Classic following a 3-0 setback to No. 6 Penn State at the WVU Invitational a week prior.
 
The Mountaineers also started their 2016 campaign at the Penn State Classic, squaring off against the No. 9-ranked Nittany Lions and No. 19 North Carolina.
 
This season alone, West Virginia will face seven teams which made the NCAA Tournament last season, as well as three teams that played in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).
 
The Mountaineers tilt with the No. 9-ranked Cougars marks WVU's first opponent ranked inside the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-25 Poll in 2018. Both squads will meet for just the second time in program history on Thursday, as BYU earned a 3-0 sweep over WVU in their first-ever meeting in Morgantown, on Aug. 29, 2014.
 
Saturday's match marks the first-ever meeting between the Mountaineers and the Shockers. Of note, Wichita State is the first of three first-time opponents on WVU's 2018 schedule. WSU is the 244th opponent WVU has faced in its 44-year history.
 
The Mountaineers also square off with the Cardinal for the first time in program history, with Stanford marking West Virginia's first top-ranked opponent since WVU faced Big 12 foe Texas on Nov. 21, 2013, in Austin. WVU has a limited history with the Pac-12, playing just one match against Cal for a 3-1 win in Berkeley, California, on Sept. 9, 2016.
 
West Virginia opened its 2018 season at home with the WVU Invitational on Aug. 24-25, in Morgantown. The Mountaineers claimed a 3-1 season-opening win over Georgia Southern on Friday morning, followed by a 3-0 sweep of UConn later that evening. However, West Virginia fell to Wright State, 3-1, in its first setback of the season on Saturday afternoon. Despite Saturday's loss, West Virginia walked away with the 2018 WVU Invitational title.
 
Junior hitters Katelyn Evans and Natania Levak earned WVU Invitational All-Tournament Team honors. Evans and Levak led the Mountaineers with 28 kills each, averaging 2.55 kills per set.
 
Additionally, five of nine freshmen made it into the rotation at the WVU Invitational, with middle blocker Kristina Jordan and outside hitter Kristin Lux starting all three matches for the Mountaineers. Jordan finished second on the team with 15 blocks, averaging 1.36 per set. She also is tied for fourth with 20 kills to average 1.82 per set. Lux ranks second on the team with 27 kills, averaging 2.45 per set.
 
Additionally, outside hitter Macy McElhaney, defensive specialist Keatan Broughton and setter Lacey Zerwas saw action on the court. Zerwas comes in second behind junior setter Erin Slinde, dishing out 31 assists in four sets for a 7.75 average. Broughton ranks second with 27 digs on the defensive side of the floor, averaging 2.45 per set.
 
As a team, West Virginia is hitting .194 and holding its opponent to a .089 clip, while outblocking its opponents, 38.0-24.0. Sophomore Katie DeMeo leads the Big 12 with 2.00 blocks per set, posting 18 block assists in three matches last weekend. Jordan also ranks sixth in the conference, totaling 15 blocks to average 1.36 per set. The Mountaineers currently lead the Big 12 in blocking, averaging 3.45 per set. West Virginia finished the 2017 season with 274.5 blocks, including 40 solo, to average 2.20 blocks per set, ranking fourth in the league.
 
Of note, the Mountaineers are 10 wins away from collecting their 700th win in program history. West Virginia currently holds a 690-724 all-time record since its inaugural season in 1974.
 
Live stats and video for all three matches can be found at WVUsports.com.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.