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Surprised SDSU Joins USD With NCAA Volleyball Bid
The San Diego Union-Tribune Feature Story
Nov. 27, 2001
By Nicole Vargas SAN DIEGO - When San Diego State women's volleyball coach Mark Warner checked his voice mail, he thought for sure the caller was mistaken. The message wished the Aztecs luck in the NCAA Division I Volleyball Tournament, whose 64-team field was announced yesterday. "I thought she was thinking it's San Diego, not San Diego State," Warner said. USD is also in the field, but the inclusion of SDSU gives a distinct local flavor to the tournament that concludes with the Aztecs hosting the Final Four at Cox Arena on Dec. 13 and 15. At 16-12, San Diego State sneaked into the bracket as the No. 64 seed, matching the Aztecs against Long Beach State (28-0), the nation's top team. It will be the first meeting between the teams this year. "We were very surprised," said Warner, who has led the Aztecs to three NCAA appearances in his seven years as head coach. "(The team) is pretty excited. No one on this team has ever gone (to the NCAA Tournament), so it's good for them." The SDSU-Long Beach State match will be the second in a first-round doubleheader Friday at the Pyramid in Long Beach. USD (21-8) will play UC Santa Barbara (17-13) at 5:30 p.m. before the Aztecs and 49ers meet at 7:30. Winners will face off in the second round at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. It will be the second NCAA appearance in three years for the Toreros under coach Jennifer Petrie, whose team most recently played the Gauchos in the SDSU Tournament last year, winning 3-1. "It was very exciting to find out where we are going," said Petrie, whose team watched the selection show on the Jenny Craig Pavilion big screen during practice. "Only two teams in California are hosting, so we feel very fortunate to be within driving distance. It makes our week a little easier." USD and SDSU are among 33 teams that received at-large berths in the tournament. Thirty-one conference champions were awarded automatic bids. The top 16 teams were seeded nationally and will host first-and second-round matches. After Long Beach State, the top seeds are defending champion Nebraska (27-1), Stanford (27-2) and USC (22-3). In addition to the Aztecs, the Mountain West Conference will be represented by No. 14 Utah (23-6), No. 15 Colorado State (27-3) and Brigham Young (20-8). From the West Coast Conference, No. 7 Pepperdine (21-3) and Santa Clara (19-9) join the Toreros. Teams winning both matches this weekend will move to regional play Dec. 6-9 at four campus locations to be determined. Regional winners will advance to the Final Four at Cox Arena. SDSU officials confirmed yesterday that more than 7,200 tickets have been sold for the Final Four. That leaves about 4,200 available. Last year's final in Richmond, Va., drew just over 8,400.
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