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MWC Sends Three Teams To 2006 NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship
Nov. 26, 2006 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Committee announced the field for the 2006 Women's Volleyball Championship, Sunday, Nov. 26 and Mountain West Conference members BYU, Colorado State and Utah were among the 64 teams. The Rams earned the automatic bid after winning the 2006 MWC Volleyball Championship, while the ninth-ranked Utes and 20th-ranked Cougars were at-large selections. The top 16 teams were seeded nationally and placed within four regions. The teams tabbed as the top four seeds were Nebraska, Stanford, Penn State and UCLA. Colorado State, which has advanced to the Sweet 16 four of the past seven seasons, makes its 18th overall and 12th straight NCAA appearance. CSU enters the NCAA Tournament with a 20-9 record. The Rams, 16-17 all-time in NCAA Tournament play, travel to Boulder, Colo., and open with the No. 6 seed and second-ranked Washington (25-4) in the first round on Thursday, Nov. 30, at 5 p.m. MT. The winner of the Rams vs. Huskies match will face Colorado (16-11) or No. 21 New Mexico State (33-3) in the second round on Friday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m. MT. No. 9 Utah (27-3 overall) will be making its ninth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The Utes, 7-8 overall in NCAA Tournaments, open play vs. Michigan State (19-11) on Friday, Dec. 1, at 5:30 p.m. PT at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, Calif. No. 4 seed (fourth-ranked) UCLA (29-3) vs. UAB (27-9) is the other match of the evening with the first serve scheduled for 8 p.m. PT. The second round match between the winners of the first and second matches is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 2, at 7:30 p.m. PT. The Utes have won 25 of their last 26 matches entering this year's tournament. No. 20 BYU (24-5) makes its 15th tournament appearance in 16 years and 23rd appearance all-time this season. The Cougars will also be in Los Angeles, Calif., for the first and second rounds where they will start tournament play with a match vs. UC Santa Barbara (19-11) on Thursday, Nov. 30 at 5 p.m. PT at the Galen Center on the campus of the University of Southern California. Sixth-ranked and the tournament's No. 5 seed Southern California (25-4) hosting Mississippi (19-12) will start at 7 p.m. PT on Thursday. The winners of the first two matches will meet in the second round on Friday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m. PT. Teams winning both early round matches will move on to regional play Dec. 8-9 at pre-determined sites (Austin, Texas; Gainesville, Fla.; Honolulu, Hawaii; Seattle, Wash.). The regional winners will advance to the semifinals and final hosted by Nebraska at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb., on Dec. 14 and 16.
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