The NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Committee announced the 64-team field for the 2007 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship, with Cal Poly and Long Beach State representing the Big West Conference. The nationally-ranked Mustangs received the conference's automatic bid after winning their second consecutive conference championship, while the 49ers were awarded an at-large bid after finishing second in the conference and posting an overall record of 25-6.
Overall, thirty-one conferences were awarded automatic qualification, and the remaining 33 slots were filled with at-large selections to complete the bracket. The top 16 teams were seeded nationally and placed within four regions. The teams tabbed as the top four seeds were No. 1 Stanford University; No. 2 University of Nebraska, Lincoln; No. 3 Pennsylvania State University; and No. 4 University of Texas at Austin.
The Cal Poly volleyball team, who earned the 16th seed after posting an overall record of 21-7, heads to Athens, Ohio, for its second consecutive NCAA Appearance, 14th overall. The Bobcats (26-5), making their fifth-straight tournament appearance, will also play host to Xavier (24-10) and Purdue (18-13) at the Convocation Center in the opening rounds of the Stanford, Calif., Regional.
In the first round, The Mustangs get an opportunity to avenge an early-season loss to the Xavier Musketeers. Back on Sept. 15 at the USF Asics/Coca-Cola Invitational, Xavier defeated Cal Poly in a five-game thriller with scores of 30-27, 26-30, 23-30, 30-28, 15-6. The Mustangs and Musketeers take to the court Friday at 2:30 p.m. (PST), with the winner advancing to the second round to face the winner of the Ohio-Purdue match, which is slated for Saturday at 11:00 a.m. (PST). For ticket information please call the Ohio Athletics ticket office at 1-800-575-CATS.
The Mustangs are 4-3 when playing on a neutral court in the NCAA Tournament, but remain winless on the opposition’s court in postseason action. During the 2007 season, Cal Poly posted an impressive 9-3 road mark with two of its three losses coming to then-ranked No. 1 Nebraska and No. 2 Stanford.
Long Beach State, making its 21st consecutive appearance and 22nd overall, makes a short trip north on the 405 freeway to Los Angeles for first and second round matches hosted by USC. In first round action, Long Beach State faces Mountain West tournament champion UNLV (24-5) Friday at 5:00 p.m. at the Galen Center. The 49ers own a 6-2 advantage over the Rebels with Long Beach State winning the past two contest in 2005 and 2006. The winner is set to face the victor of the fifth-seeded USC (25-4)-Pepperdine (18-10) meeting Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
The 49ers hold an impressive 46-18 NCAA record and have earned three national championships (1989, 1993, 1998) and two national champion runner-ups (1991, 2001). In earlier years, Long Beach State has had the luxury of being at home during the postseason, but for the fifth time in six seasons, the 49ers must play away from The Walter Pyramid. The 49ers’ postseason record on a neutral court is 15-10, while their away mark is 3-6.
First- and second-round matches will be played at 16 campus sites. A list of the first-round match-ups follows.
STANFORD, CALIFORNIA REGIONAL
November 30 and December 1 at Stanford, California
*No. 1 Stanford (27-2) vs. Santa Clara (19-11)
Minnesota (18-12) vs. Sacramento St. (28-7)
November 30 and December 1 at Athens, Ohio
Purdue (18-13) vs. *Ohio (26-5)
Xavier (24-10) vs. No. 16 Cal Poly (21-7)
November 30 and December 1 at Manhattan, Kansas
*No. 9 Kansas St. (22-8) vs. Tulsa (27-8)
Oregon (20-10) vs. Missouri St. (25-7)
November 30 and December 1 at Clemson, South Carolina
Alabama (15-14) vs. *Clemson (28-3)
Alabama A&M (15-9) vs. No. 8 UCLA (20-10)
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA REGIONAL
November 30 and December 1 at Los Angeles, California
*No. 5 USC (25-4) vs. Pepperdine (18-10)
Long Beach St. (25-6) vs. UNLV (24-5)
November 30 and December 1 at Queens, New York
Princeton (22-3) vs. Delaware (30-4)
Long Island (23-13) vs. *No. 12 St. John’s (N.Y.) (31-3)
November 29 and 30 at Gainesville, Florida
*No. 13 Florida (27-2) vs. Col. of Charleston (26-7)
Florida A&M (18-7) vs. Oklahoma (21-9)
November 30 and December 1 at Austin, Texas
New Mexico St. (26-5) vs. LSU (24-7)
Texas St. (21-11) vs. *No. 4 Texas (24-3)
UNIVERSITY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA REGIONAL
November 30 and December 1 at University Park, Pennsylvania
*No. 3 Penn St. (28-2) vs. Siena (24-7)
Albany (N.Y.) (23-9) vs. Cleveland St. (23-8)
November 30 and December 1 at Ann Arbor, Michigan
*Michigan (22-10) vs. Miami (Ohio) (20-10)
Illinois St. (21-11) vs. No. 14 Colorado St. (22-7)
November 30 and December 1 at Louisville, Kentucky
No. 11 Hawaii (26-5) vs. Tennessee St. (20-13)
Middle Tenn. (33-2) vs. *Louisville (22-7)
November 30 and December 1 at Seattle, Washington
BYU (21-7) vs. Mississippi (25-7)
Missouri (17-12) vs. *No. 6 Washington (26-3)
MADISON, WISCONSIN REGIONAL
November 30 and December 1 at Madison, Wisconsin
*No. 7 Wisconsin (25-4) vs. Northern Iowa (22-10)
Iowa St. (17-13) vs. San Diego (21-7)
November 30 and December 1 at Durham, North Carolina
*Duke (24-6) vs. American (26-7)
Liberty (27-8) vs. No. 10 California (22-7)
November 30 and December 1 at Dayton, Ohio
*No. 15 Dayton (32-1) vs. Lipscomb (20-11)
Kentucky (22-9) vs. Michigan St. (19-13)
November 30 and December 1 at Lincoln, Nebraska
Wichita St. (26-5) vs. Western Ky. (27-8)
South Dakota St. (25-10) vs. *No. 2 Nebraska (27-1)
The regional winners will advance to the semifinals and final hosted by Sacramento State University and the Sacramento Sports Commission at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California, on December 13 and 15. For more information about the championship, log on to www.ncaasports.com.