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For the second consecutive year, BYU ends the season leading the nation in home attendance.
The Cougars led all NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball teams with a 3,019 home match attendance average — beating all other schools by more than 300 people per match.
BYU had more than 2,000 people in attendance for all but one of its 19 home matches. In addition, BYU had the highest single-match attendance during the regular season with a sold-out 5,038 people in attendance to watch the team’s home match against then-No. 1 UC Irvine in January.
The Cougars went 17-2 at Smith Fieldhouse as it finished the season winning their first MPSF championship in nine years and advanced to the NCAA Tournament championship match.
This is the second consecutive year that the Cougars were the only team to have more than a 3,000 home attendance average. BYU’s attendance this year, though, was a slight decrease from its 3,192 home attendance average in 2012.
Hawai’i ended the season in second place with a 2,735 home attendance average — joining BYU as the only teams with more than a 1,000 home attendance average.
The NCAA champions UC Irvine had the nation’s third best home attendance average at 911 people. In addition, Long Beach State had a 898 home attendance average, while Pepperdine had a 890 home attendance average to round-out the top five.
The top six teams with the best home attendance average were all from the MPSF.
Lewis led all non-West Coast schools and was seventh overall with a 801 home attendance average. Ball State also finished with the nation’s eighth best home attendance average at 767.
Penn State had the best home attendance average among East Coast at 714. The Nittany Lions were the only East Coast school to finish in the top 15 for best home attendance average.
Mount Olive led all Conference Carolinas schools and finished in the nation’s top 20 with a 275 home attendance average.
Sixteen of the 35 returning NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball teams had an increase in attendance from last year.
Among the biggest attendance improvements was Pepperdine that increased its home attendance average by more than 400 people per match from last season. In addition, Ball State’s home attendance average improved by more than 300 people per match compared to 2012.
Belmont Abbey had the highest home attendance average for teams in its inaugural season at 145.
2013 NCAA men’s volleyball home attendance averages
1. BYU — 3,019
2, Hawai’i — 2,735
3. UC Irvine — 911
4. Long Beach State — 898
5. Pepperdine — 890
6. UCLA — 829
7. Lewis — 801
8. Ball State — 767
9. Penn State — 714
10. Stanford — 649
11. Cal State Northridge — 662
12, USC — 578
13. Ohio State — 568
14. Cal Baptist — 558
15. UC San Diego — 445
16. IPFW — 435
17. Loyola — 401
18. UC Santa Barbara — 396
19. George Mason — 280
20. Mount Olive — 275
22. Harvard — 239
23. NJIT — 234 people
24. Lees-McRae — 231
25. Lindenwood — 217
26. Pacific — 214
27. Princeton — 212
28. Pfeiffer — 194
29. Grand Canyon — 190
30. Quincy — 170
31. Belmont Abbey — 145
32. Limestone — 139
33. Barton — 134
34. Sacred Heart — 118
35. King — 117
36. St. Francis — 114
37. Coker — 97
38. Erskine — 92
39. Rutgers-Newark — 87