University Park, Pa. — The seventh-ranked and three-time defending national champion Penn State women’s volleyball team (26-5, 16-4 Big Ten) earned the No. 4 seed in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. The Nittany Lions host MAAC Champion Niagara (25-8) on Friday, Dec. 3 at Rec Hall in the first round on the tournament. Virginia Tech (19-11) of the ACC, who earned its first ever NCAA Tournament bid, will take on CAA Champion Delaware (26-5) at 5 p.m. in the other first round match. The winners of each of the matches will meet in the NCAA Second Round contest at 7:30 p.m. in Rec Hall on Saturday, Dec. 4.
"We’re excited about participating in the NCAA Championships," said head coach Russ Rose. "After coming off a tough road loss to a solid Minnesota team, we have to regroup and focus on the things that allowed us to win the Big Ten Championship this year."
Penn State, which captured its eighth consecutive and 14th overall Big Ten title after completing the Big Ten season with a 16-4 record, will be making its 30th NCAA Tournament appearance. Penn State is one of just two teams in the nation, the other being Stanford, to be selected to every postseason event since its beginning in 1981. In the 64-team field where only the top 16 teams are seeded, the Nittany Lions are joined by No. 8 seed Illinois (22-8), No. 10 seed Minnesota, No. 16 seed Purdue (21-10), as well as Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State (22-11) and Northwestern (19-12) of the Big Ten. The Big Ten Conference led all conferences with eight teams selected.
The Nittany Lions have earned the right to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament 24 times since 1981, including the last 21 seasons. Penn State has compiled an overall record of 66-25 in the event, including eight trips to the NCAA Semifinals (1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2007, 2008 and 2009) and four National Championships (1999, 2007, 2008 and 2009). Penn State is 42-3 in NCAA tournament matches in Rec Hall and has won its last 18 postseason matches in a row.
The winner of the Penn State first and second round NCAA site will advance to the University Park Regional on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 10-11 at Rec Hall. The Penn State site winner will play the winner from Norman, Okla., which features No. 13 seed LSU (25-4), Tulsa (30-2), Wichita State (21-7) and Oklahoma (21-20). The other Regional Semifinal match will feature the Cedar Falls, Iowa (No. 5 seed Northern Iowa, Missouri, Arizona and Northwestern) site winner and the Durham, N.C. (Ohio, Penn, High Point and No. 12 seed Duke) site winner.
The winners from each of the four Regional sites (University Park, Pa., Seattle, Wash., Austin, Texas and Dayton, Ohio) advance to the NCAA National Semifinal, which will be held on Thursday, Dec. 16 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. with the National Championship match set for Saturday, Dec. 18.
ALL SESSION tickets for the First and Second rounds MUST be purchased at the Bryce Jordan Center Ticket Office or by calling 814-865-5555 beginning on Monday, Nov. 29 at 10 a.m. up until Friday, Dec. 3 at 4 p.m. All session tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for youth and students with a valid college or university ID and $8 for groups of 20or more. SINGLE SESSION tickets will only be available at Rec Hall on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 3-4, and are $8 for adults, $6 for youth and students and $5 for groups.
ALL SESSION tickets for the University Park Regional on Dec. 10-11 are also on sale NOW. They MUST also be purchased in advance at the Bryce Jordan Center Ticket Office or by calling 814-865-5555. All session tickets are $16 for adults and $10 for youth and students with a valid college or university ID and $8 for groups of 20 or more. SINGLE SESSION tickets for the University Park Regional will only be available at Rec Hall on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 10-11, and are $10 for adults, $7 for youth and students and $5 for groups.