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Oklahoma City • Only an elite handful of head coaches are regular visitors to the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Final Four.

This week, Penn State's Russ Rose is making his record 12th appearance. Stanford's John Dunning is here for the 11th time. Texas' Jerritt Elliott is at his seventh.

Then there is BYU's Shawn Olmstead at his first. Early on at Media Day on Wednesday, he admitted while he tries to focus on one match at a time, his players had their eyes on the tournament prize all along.

"They're the ones that put out this [Final Four] goal. I mean, they did it on their own," said Olmstead. "They did it a long time ago, in August. To be able to see a plan — here's what we have to do to get there — I mean, that's pretty remarkable."

The next step in the Cougars' plan is Thursday night, when BYU (29-4) takes on second-seed Texas (27-2) at 5 p.m. on ESPN2. That match precedes the contest between fifth-seed Penn State (34-3) and top seed Stanford (33-1), also on ESPN2. The winners of the two matches play for the national championship Saturday night.

BYU is only the third unseeded team in the tournament's 34-year history to reach the Final Four. But the Cougars are not the first underdog. Two seasons ago in Louisville, Oregon upset Penn State in the semifinals. Last year in Seattle, Wisconsin did the same to Texas. Haley Eckermann, the Longhorns' All-American, took note of those upsets.

"Last year, I think we may have overlooked Wisconsin a little bit. This year, we know BYU's good," Eckermann said. "We have to focus on BYU."

"We've got our hands full with BYU," Elliott agreed.

At the Final Four, quickness and blocking often decide the outcome. BYU's Alexa Gray is one of the quickest hitters in the game, and BYU is the best blocking team in the nation.

"These kids, they're long, tall and physical," said Olmstead of his hitters and blockers. "But they work at it. They put a lot of time into watching and seeing the game. We want to be able to see what the opponents are doing on the other side of the net."

Olmstead enters Oklahoma City with a grin and a sense of humor. He considered growing the kind of full-fledged "playoff beard," but thought it might look too straggly. He settled instead for a tournament mustache.

"(We) started taking selfies with the girls and celebrating," Olmstead recalled. "They said it's creepy, but hilarious. So, we went for it. I'm the first to say it's horrendous. But, it's fun. Let's do it."

Olmstead is a finalist for National Coach of the Year, as selected by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). The winner will be announced at a Thursday luncheon as part of AVCA's annual national convention.

BYU's Jennifer Hamson repeated as an AVCA First Team All-American and will be a candidate for National Player of the Year, to be announced at another luncheon Friday. Hamson was also a First Team selection in 2012. Gray was named to the 2014 Second Team, following her Third Team honor in 2013. Sophomore Amy Boswell is a 2014 Honorable Mention. —

Final Four NCAA volleyball lineup

P Thursday's semifinal matches

• BYU vs. No. 2 Texas, 5 p.m. MST

• No. 5 Penn State vs. No. 1 Stanford, 7:30 p.m. MST

TV • ESPN2