Volleyball Earns At-Large Berth to NCAA Championships
11/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Volleyball Earns At-Large Berth to NCAA Championships
11/28/2004
PITTSBURGH ? For the second consecutive season, the Pittsburgh volleyball team will make a trip to the NCAA Championships. After winning 21 matches and finishing second in the Big East regular season as well as the Big East tournament, the Panthers are on their way to Columbus, Ohio, to take on the Mid-American Conference champion Ohio Bobcats on Friday, December 3.
Pittsburgh (21-10) earned an at-large berth with quality victories over Alabama and North Carolina and for finishing second in the Big East, which ranked among the top eight conferences nationally in the Rich Kern Percentage Index (RKPI). The Panthers have earned a date with the Bobcats (28-2) for the sixth meeting in the school's histories.
Pittsburgh leads the series, 3-2, but the teams haven't met since October 23, 1984. In fact, Pittsburgh has won the last three meetings with Ohio but this will be the first postseason match between the schools. It will mark the Panthers' first back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Championships since earning five straight berths from 1990-94.
The Panthers are 3-10 in NCAA Championships matches but have won their first-round contest in each of the last two tournaments (1994 and 2003). Ohio has won 22 consecutive matches heading into the match vs. the Panthers and will also be making its second consecutive NCAA Championships appearance.
The match will be held at Ohio State University with the other first-round match at the site featuring the host Buckeyes (27-3), seeded fifth in the tournament, and Dayton University (23-8). The times for the first-round matches are to be announced soon and the winners would play in the second round of the tournament at Ohio State on Saturday, December 4.