MWC SENDS THREE TEAMS TO NCAA TOURNAMENT
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 11th-ranked Utes and 22nd-ranked Cougars were at-large selections.
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 third-ranked Washington (25-4) in the first round on Thursday, Nov. 30. The winner of the Rams vs. Huskies match will face Colorado (16-11) or No. 19 New Mexico State (33-3) in the second round on Friday, Dec. 1 (time TBD).
No. 11 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. 22 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, facing 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) will host Mississippi (19-12) 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.
NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND MATCHES: Nov. 30 (Thursday) Colorado State (20-9) vs. No. 6 seed (#3) Washington (25-4), 5 p.m. MT
Colorado State and the 2005 NCAA Tournament champion Washington Huskies will be meeting in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in five years. The Huskies lead the all-time series, 4-2, with the last win over the Rams coming in the second round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament. The Rams earned the leagues's automatic invite to their 18th overall and 12th straight NCAA Tournament, where they hold a record of 16-17. On the strength of their 25-4 overall record and second-place finish in the Pac-10 (15-3), the Huskies will be competing in their 11th NCAA Tournament where they hold an all-time record of 20-9. The winner of the CSU-Washington match will face the winner of the No. 19 New Mexico State-Colorado match in the second round. Colorado State is 18-9 all-time vs. New Mexico State, winning the last five matches vs. the Aggies. The Rams are 19-11 all-time vs. the Buffaloes, including a first round NCAA Tournament win last season.
Nov. 30 (Thursday) #22 BYU (25-4) vs. UC Santa Barbara (19-11), 5 p.m. PT
No. 22 BYU and UC Santa Barbara will meet for the 17th time overall and the second time in NCAA Tournament play. The Gauchos defeated BYU in a regional-round match in 1981. The Cougars hold a 9-6-1 all-time advantage over the Gauchos. The Cougars are making their sixth NCAA Tournament appearance as member of the MWC, and their 23rd overall appearance in the program's history, while the Gauchos are making their 26th NCAA Tournament appearance. UCSB, along with Penn State and Stanford, holds the distinction of making appearances in all 26 NCAA Tournaments played. BYU holds an all-time record of 27-22 in NCAA Tournaments and earned an at-large selection after finishing the regular season with a 24-5 record. UC Santa Barbara has an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 21-25 and also was an at-large selection after finishing the season 19-11 overall and 8-6 in Big West Conference play. The winner of the BYU-UC Santa Barbara match will face the winner of the Mississippi-No. 6 Southern California match in the second round. The Cougars are 6-10 vs. USC and 1-0 vs. Mississippi all-time.
Dec. 1 (Friday) #11 Utah (27-3) vs. Michigan State (19-11), 5:30 p.m. PT
No. 11 Utah and Michigan State are 1-1 in head-to-head competition with the last match coming in 1998 (MSU won, 3-0). The Utes head into the NCAA Tournament as an at-large invite. This is the ninth straight tournament appearance for Utah who has an all-time record of 7-8 in tournament play. The Spartans are making their 11th NCAA Tournament appearance, and are 11-10 all-time in tournament play. Before missing postseason play the past two seasons, Michigan State advanced to 10 straight NCAA Tournaments. The winner of the Utah-Michigan match will face the winner of fourth-seeded and fourth-ranked UCLA and UAB in the second round. The Utes are 1-7 all-time vs. UCLA and 1-0 vs. UAB.
THE MWC IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
In the seven years since the inception of the Mountain West Conference, four teams (BYU, Colorado State, San Diego State and Utah) have earned invitations to the NCAA Tournament with three advancing to the Sweet 16. BYU has made it to the NCAA's 23 of the past 25 years, while Utah has eight straight NCAA appearances. Colorado State will make its 12th straight appearance this season. and San Diego State has made four appearances in the last 13 years. Overall, the MWC has an 20-20 record in NCAA Tournaments since the league was formed in 1999, including an 13-7 mark in first-round matches.
