SIU is coming off a two-match losing streak to Missouri State, dropping the final game of the regular season to be knocked out of a chance to win the regular season conference title, and then losing again a few days later at the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.
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The Huskers are the top seed in the Lexington, Kentucky Regional. Nebraska will open the tournament on Friday, Dec. 4 against the Harvard Crimson (15-10), the first-ever meeting between the teams.
“We’ve got a really competitive group here”, 11th-year head coach Craig Skinner said. So, I wasn’t surprised, but I think it’s a great honor for our team.
The last NCAA trip for the Paladins came in 2008 when Coach Young’s team dropped a 3-0 decision to Utah in the opening round of the tournament at Clemson after claiming the SoCon tournament crown. The winners play Saturday for a spot in the San Diego Regional.
Previous winners making the field are: UCLA (1984, 1990, 91, 2011), University of Hawaii, Manoa (1982, 83, 87), Nebraska (1995, 2000, 06), Southern California (1981, 2002, 03), Stanford (1992, 94, 96, 97, 2001, 04), Penn State (1999, 2007, 08, 09, 10, 13, 14), Texas (1988, 2012) and University of Washington (2005). The Bobcats won the MAC tournament title and the automatic invite to the NCAA’s by sweeping top-seed Northern Illinois. Kansas State (17-11) earned an at-large bid to the tournament.
“We’re playing a Pac-12 opponent right away and BYU, the host team, played in the national championship match a year ago”, Hudson said. The Jayhawks concluded the season second in the Big 12 standings for the third straight year. The NCAA Tournament begins on Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 3-5. Both national semifinal matches as well as the championship match will be broadcast by ESPN2.
Arizona (19-13) went 9-11 in the Pacific-12 Conference – a league which does not have a conference tournament.
This year’s Volleyball Final Four is at CenturyLink Center Omaha, home to Creighton men’s basketball and just a block from where the volleyball team watched the NCAA Tournament selection show last night.
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It will also be important for the team to play aggressively the entire match and to not allow themselves to become tentative and tight when big moments arise in the match.
