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Three MWC Teams Make NCAA Volleyball Field
BYU, Colorado State and Utah Receive Bids
Nov. 28, 1999
Colorado Springs, Colo. Three Mountain West Conference teams are among the 64-teams selected to compete in the 1999 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship announced tonight. BYU, Colorado State and Utah each received an at-large bid. Both the Cougars and Rams will host first and second round action, while Utah will travel to Hawaii site of this year's NCAA Championship finals. BYU owns a 26-4 overall record and claimed the Mountain West Conference regular season title with a 13-1 league slate. The Cougars will be making their 18th trip to the tournament in the 19th year of the event (the only year they did not make the field was 1989) and their 10th consecutive appearance. Last year, BYU reached the NCAA Central Regional Final before losing to national runner-up Penn State on the Nittany Lions' home court. This year, the Cougars will host the first and second round matches on Friday-Saturday, Dec. 3-4 in the Smith Fieldhouse. BYU faces Princeton (23-6) in the first round, and the winner meets the victor of the Arizona State (14-12) vs. Wisconsin (21-9) match the following day. Colorado State set a school record for wins with a 28-2 overall mark this season, and won the inaugural Mountain West Conference Championship after finishing second (12-2) in the league standings. The Rams are making their 11th appearance in the tournament and fifth straight. Last season, CSU won a first round match over South Carolina before being defeated by Texas on the Longhorns' home court. This year, CSU will play host to first and second round matches in Moby Arena Thursday-Friday, Dec. 2-3. The Rams face Loyola-Chicago (24-9) in the opening round. The other first round match features Louisville (24-9) vs. Kansas State (20-8). Utah brings a 21-9 record into the tournament after finishing third in the league (10-4) and taking CSU to five games in the semifinals of the conference tournament. The Utes are making their second consecutive and overall appearance in the NCAA tournament. Last year they traveled to Madison, Wisconsin where they posted a first-round win over Illinois State, but fell to Nebraska in four-games. This year, Utah will play at Hawaii, which is also hosting the NCAA Championship Finals (Dec. 16-18) in Honolulu. The Utes will play Colorado (18-11) in the first round on Thursday, Dec. 2. The winner of that match advances to meet the winner of the Hawaii (27-1) vs. Prairie View (18-16) match on Friday, Dec. 3.
Following is the official NCAA release and bracket, and up-to-date information, including a full bracket, for the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship can be obtained from the NCAA website at www.ncaavolleyball.net.
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