ncaa volleyball

SDSU Headed To NCAA Volleyball Tourney



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Posts The Summit League Champion South Dakota State volleyball team will face defending national champion Nebraska in the first round of the 2007 NCAA Volleyball Tournament on Friday at 7 p.m. in Lincoln, Neb., at the NU Coliseum.

The first team to represent South Dakota State in any NCAA Division I Tournament, the Jackrabbit volleyball team enters the tournament with a 25-10 overall record, while the 'Huskers come into the match with a number two ranking in the country to show for their 27-1 record.

Stay tuned to GoJacks.com for the latest up-toWSU volleyball team sweats out NCAA bid
BY PAUL SUELLENTROP
The Wichita Eagle
As it turns out, Wichita State had nothing to worry about regarding the NCAA volleyball tournament.

The Shockers are in, and in with room to spare even after Friday's semifinal loss in the conference tournament. They are part of a record four-team contingent from the Missouri Valley Conference in the 64-team field.

WSU will play Western Kentucky on Friday in Lincoln, Neb., as part of the Madison, Wis., Regional. Nebraska, the No. 2 seed nationally, plays South Dakota State. The winners meet Saturday.

"I think (the Valley) deserves it," WSU coach Chris Lamb said. "I think we absolutely deserve it. That's why I'm so proud to have won the league this year over any other year."

Of course, no Shocker coach, player or fan around in 2005 will ever put much faith in the selection process. That rejection of a nationally ranked team made WSU senior Sara Lungren nervous even when second-place Missouri State and fifth-place Illinois State showed up on the ESPNU bracket, clear indications the MVC champions from WSU could relax.

"I'm not going to put anything past the committee," Lungren said. "That made me nervous."

WSU players and coaches gathered their nerves at Lamb's house for the selection show. They spent Saturday and Sunday not knowing. Season over? Practice on Monday?

"I tried not think about it," Lungren said. "You're sitting there in limbo."

The selection show started 10 minutes late, thanks to a basketball game on ESPNU. Missouri State, a team WSU defeated twice during the season, showed up in the pairings at 7:14. Illinois State at 7:26 and Northern Iowa five minutes later. ESPNU revealed the Lincoln bracket last, making the Shockers sit through four commercial breaks and three complete regional fields.

Then, at 7:35, WSU's name popped up on the bracket.

"We were all cheering pretty hard," WSU senior Abby Harsh said.

"It was more of a relief," Lungren said.

WSU returns to Lincoln, site of its 2004 appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Shockers defeated Nevada before losing to the Huskers. Lamb figured Lincoln as the likely destination because of geography. Lungren likes it because it is a short drive for Shocker fans.

"I like playing at Nebraska," she said. "It's a great atmosphere."

Most important, the Shockers don't end their season with Friday's disappointing loss to Illinois State.

"We all came away with the feeling things didn't go as well as expected," Lungren said. "It's definitely a chance to redeem ourselves."

Western Kentucky is an at-large selection from the Sun Belt Conference. The Hilltoppers finished second in the conference tournament and second in the East Division. Lamb spent Sunday night calling coaching friends to get a first take on his opponent.

"I know they're very good," he said. "I know they're well coached."

Northern Iowa, the MVC Tournament champion, is also in the Madison Regional. The Panthers play at seventh-seeded Wisconsin. Illinois State plays 14th-seeded Colorado State in Ann Arbor, Mich. Missouri State plays Oregon in Manhattan, where ninth-seeded Kansas State plays Tulsa.

The 64-team field for the 2007 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship will be announced today at 7 p.m. live on ESPNU.

The ninth-ranked Wisconsin team will gather in the McClain Center auditorium for the selection show. The media and public are invited to join the Badgers for the announcement. Free parking is available in lot 17, the ramp north of Camp Randall Stadium. Entrance to the building will be through the glass doors in the northwest corner, with the auditorium on the second floor. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Wisconsin is looking for its 16th overall and 12th straight NCAA tournament appearance in 2007. The Badgers are 28-15 (.651) in 15 NCAA appearances.

The UW has the possibility of hosting first and second-round matches in the UW Field House on Nov. 30 � Dec. 1.

The Badgers will host one of four NCAA regionals on Dec. 7-8 in the Field House, the first time Wisconsin has hosted a regional since 2000 and the first time since the NCAA went to pre-determined sites in 2003. Two regional semifinal matches will be played on Dec. 7 at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. with the winners playing on Dec. 8 at 8 p.m. live on ESPNU for the right to advance to the NCAA championship on Dec. 13 and 15 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, Calif.

The last time the Badgers hosted a regional in 2000, Wisconsin downed Kansas State in the regional semifinal, 3-1, before edging UCLA, 3-2, for the right to advance to the national championship in Richmond, Va. The UW finished the season as the NCAA runner-up, downing USC