COLORADO STATE AND UTAH TO REPRESENT THE MWC IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
The NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Committee announced the field for the 2008 Women's Volleyball Championship, Sunday, November 30, and Mountain West Conference members Colorado State and Utah were among the 64 teams. The Utes earned the automatic bid after winning the MWC regular season title, while the Rams were an at-large selection. Utah was tabbed with the No. 12 seed in the tournament.
Utah will travel to Clemson, S.C., to open with Furman (21-13) in the first round at the Jervey Gym on Friday, December 5 at 5 p.m. ET. The winner of the Utes vs. Paladins match will face Clemson (22-9) or Tennessee (22-9) in the second round on Saturday, December 6 at 7:30 p.m. Colorado State will start tournament play with a match vs. Florida International (28-6) on Friday, December 5 at 5 p.m. ET in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on the campus of the University of Florida. The tournament's No. 15 seed Florida (25-3) will host Florida A&M (14-12) at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday. The winners of the first two matches will meet in the second round on Saturday, December 6, at 7:30 p.m.
NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND MATCHES December 5 (Friday) No. 12 seed (#18) UTAH (24-5) vs. Furman (21-13), 5 p.m. ET (Clemson, S.C.)
No. 18 Utah and Furman will be meeting for the first time. The Utes earned the Mountain West Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after being crowned the regular season champion. Utah will be making its 10th overall NCAA Tournament appearance, where it holds an 8-9 all-time mark. On the strength of their 21-13 record and Southern Conference tournament title, the Paladins will be competing in their first-ever NCAA Championship. The winner of the Utah-Furman match will face the winner of the Tennessee vs. Clemson match in the second round. The Utes are 0-4 all-time vs. Tennessee and have not faced Clemson.
December 5 (Friday) (#22) COLORADO STATE (22-6) vs. Florida International (28-6), 5 p.m. ET (Gainesville, Fla.)
No. 21 Colorado State and Florida International will match-up for the first time. The Rams earned an at-large bid to its 20th overall and 14th straight NCAA Tournament, while the Golden Panthers are appearing in their second NCAA Championship. CSU holds a 17-19 all-time record in NCAA Tournaments, while FIU is 0-1 in tournament play. The Golden Panthers earned also earned an at-large bid. The winner of the Colorado State-Florida International match will face the victor of No. 15 seed Florida-Florida A&M in the second round. The Rams are 2-2 all-time vs. Florida, including a three-set victory earlier this season, and 2-0 against Florida A&M all-time.
THE MWC IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
In the nine years of postseason play since the inception of the Mountain West Conference, five teams (BYU, Colorado State, San Diego State, UNLV and Utah) have earned invitations to the NCAA Tournament, with three advancing to the Sweet 16 and one earning a spot in the Elite Eight. BYU has made it to the tourney 24 of the last 27 years, while Colorado State will make its 14th straight appearance this season. Utah has made the tournament nine of the last 10 years, while San Diego State and UNLV have one appearance as members of the MWC. Overall, the Conference has a 26-26 record in NCAA Tournaments since the league was formed in 1999, including a 17-9 mark in first-round matches.
