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MWC Sends Three To 2005 NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament
Utah and Colorado State to host first and second rounds
Nov. 28, 2005 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Committee announced the field for the 2005 Women's Volleyball Championship Sunday, Nov. 28 and Mountain West Conference members BYU, Colorado State and Utah were among the 64 teams. The Utes earned the automatic bid after winning the 2005 MWC Volleyball Championship, while the 21st-ranked Cougars and the Rams 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, Penn State, Washington and Arizona. Utah (22-8 overall) will be making its eighth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and will be hosting for the first time since the 2001. The Utes, 6-7 overall in NCAA Tournaments, open play vs. Loyola Marymount (19-10) at 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2. No. 4 seed (sixth-ranked) Arizona (22-5) vs. Utah State (21-12) will be the first match of the evening at 6 p.m. MT. The second round match between the winners of the first and second matches is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3. The Utes have won 10 of their last 13 matches entering this year's tournament. Colorado State, which advanced to the Sweet 16 four of the past six seasons, makes its 17th overall and 11th straight NCAA appearance. CSU enters the NCAA Tournament with a 20-8 record. The Rams, 15-16 all-time in NCAA Tournament play, will host first and second round action for the second straight season and fifth time in the last seven years, opening with Colorado (15-12) in the first round on Friday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. MT. The winner of the Rams vs. Buffaloes match will face No. 3 seed (No. 3) Washington (26-1) or Siena (20-11) in the second round on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 5 p.m. MT No. 21 BYU (25-3) makes its 14th tournament appearance in 15 years and 22nd appearance all-time this season. The Cougars will travel to Los Angeles, Calif., where they will start tournament play with a match vs. Pepperdine (17-11) on Friday, Dec. 2 at 5 p.m. PT. Thirteenth-ranked and the tournament's No. 12 seed Southern California (16-10) hosting UC Santa Barbara (21-8) is also scheduled for Dec. 2. Teams winning both early round matches will move on to regional play Dec. 9-10 at pre-determined sites (Palo Alto, Calif., Omaha, Neb., State College, Pa. and College Station, Texas). The regional winners will advance to the semifinals and final hosted by University of Texas at San Antonio at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on Dec. 15 and 17.
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