• Home
• Roster
• Schedule \ Results
• News
• Archives

Nov. 29, 2009

Complete NCAA Bracket in PDF Format

PULLMAN, Wash. -- The Washington State volleyball team received an at-large bid to the 2009 NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship Tournament Sunday.

The Cougars, 18-12 overall, 6-12 in Pacific-10 Conference (8th), will play Northern Iowa (30-2) in the first round, at 4:30 p.m. CT, Friday, Dec. 4, in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nebraska (23-6) and seeded 10th in the tournament takes on Coastal Carolina (20-13) at 7 p.m. CT, Dec. 4. The winners will meet in the second round of the tournament at 5 p.m. CT Saturday, Dec. 5. All matches will be played in 4,030-seat NU Coliseum on the University of Nebraska campus. The NU Coliseum has sold-out the past 133-consecutive Huskers volleyball matches.

"Anytime you accomplish something as a team, it is fun for me to see the excitement in the players' faces," WSU Head Coach Andrew Palileo said. "Today, seeing the frustration of all the hard work that they have put in over the last two years that I've been here go out the window, and seeing all of their smiles and excitement when they saw WSU on the TV screen. That is what is fun for me, at this point right now, before we get started preparing for the match."

This is the 10th trip to the NCAA Tournament for the WSU volleyball program and the first under second-year WSU Head Coach Palileo. This marks the first time Washington State has played in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament since the 2002 season. Ironically, in 2002, the Cindy Fredrick-coached WSU team defeated Northern Iowa 3-0 in the NCAA East Regional Semi-final match in Gainesville, Florida. Another irony is the fact that Palileo ended his highly successful seven-year coaching career at South Dakota State with the Jackrabbits' first trip to the NCAA Tournament, a 3-0 loss to Nebraska in Lincoln (Nov. 30, 2007).

"I actually know quite a bit about Northern Iowa volleyball. While I was coaching at South Dakota State we played Northern Iowa a few times in spring tournaments and twice during the years I was there," Palileo said. "It will be an exciting match. It will be fun for me to see old friends again."

Eight Pac-10 teams are playing in the tournament - Stanford, Washington, UCLA, California, USC, Oregon, Arizona and Washington State. The Big 12 and the Big 10 Conferences each have six teams playing in the tournament.

The Cougars are still finalizing travel plans but are tentatively set to leave Pullman early Wed., Dec. 2. The WSU volleyball NCAA matches can be heard live on KQQQ 1150AM radio and through the Cougars All-Access on the internet. A live video internet streaming webcast of the match will also be available at www.ncaa.com.

Quotes from WSU senior volleyball players, all starters: "This is an awesome payoff for everything that all of us have put in," outside hitter Jackie Albright said. "It is just awesome to see, not just the past year but the four years of work we have put in. Last year I just worried about game-to-game and if it happened, it happened. Every single one of us are believers this year. (Going to the NCAA) This almost relieves the pressure. I think we will go into the tournament more relaxed than we have been all year."

"At the beginning of the year, when we went 12-0 in preseason, there was a realization that we could do it (advance to the NCAA tournament). Right when the Pac-10 started and we started beating some teams, and beating them well, that is when the team clicked on it," defensive specialist Kelly Hyder said. "I have a different role (from first three years on team), but we are winning and made the tournament and I am contributing in my own way so it's still good. I don't feel like there is any more pressure (to play in NCAA). We play in the Pac-10 so that's pressure enough every night so playing in the tournament will be the same thing."

"This is a great payback. We have all been through so much together as a team - the highs and the lows. This is really rewarding that we get to show the nation what we a capable of," middle blocker Cassie Robbins said.

"Even though I joined this team last year, this is my group. We have been working hard together the last two years and I am really happy for the other seniors and happy I got to be a part of this and happy that I fit in," setter Renee Bordelon said. "(More pressure going into NCAA?) No, there is no reason to be stressed. We are going to go out and do what we know how to do."

Washington State Volleyball NCAA Championships History

Year	Event	                        Results
1991	NCAA First Round	        New Mexico def. WSU 3-1, at Albuquerque, New Mexico
1993	NCAA First Round	        WSU def. San Diego 3-1, at Pullman, Washington
	NCAA Second Round	        BYU def. WSU 3-0, at Provo, Utah
1994	NCAA First Round	        New Mexico def. WSU 3-2, at Albuquerque, New Mexico
1995	NCAA Second Round	        Oral Roberts def. WSU 3-0, at Pullman, Washington
1996	NCAA Second Round	        WSU def. Kansas State 3-1, at Pullman, Washington
	NCAA Pacific Reg. Semifinals	WSU def. Loyola Marymount 3-1, at Stanford, California
	NCAA Pacific Regional Final	Stanford def. WSU 3-0, at Stanford, California
1997	NCAA First Round	        WSU def. Lehigh 3-0, at Pullman, Washington
	NCAA Second Round	        WSU def. Colorado State 3-1, at Pullman, Washington
        NCAA Central Reg. Semifinals	Florida def. WSU 3-0, at Madison, Wisconsin
2000	NCAA First Round	        WSU def. Tennessee 3-0, at University Park, Pennsylvania
	NCAA Second Round	        Penn State def. WSU 3-1, at University Park, Pennsylvania
2001	NCAA First Round	        Hawai'i def. WSU 3-0, at Pullman, Washington
2002	NCAA First Round	        WSU def. Oral Roberts 3-0, at Manhattan, Kansas
	NCAA Second Round	        WSU def. Kansas State 3-1, at Manhattan, Kansas
	NCAA East Regional Semifinals	WSU def. Northern Iowa 3-0, at Gainesville, Florida
	NCAA East Regional Final	Florida def. WSU 3-1, at Gainesville, Florida