The UCSB women’s volleyball team is back in the NCAA Tournament.
Tbe Gauchos received an at-large berth in the 64-team tournament on Sunday and will head to the Austin sub-Regional in Texas to play Texas State on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. PT. No. 2 overall seed Texas (21-3) will face Albany (16-10) in the other first-round match-up. The winners of the two matches will play on Friday, at 5:00 p.m.
And we are in! The Gauchos got an at large bid to the NCAA Tournament! Ready to take on Texas State in Austin. GO GAUCHOS pic.twitter.com/DZPcith3Hi
— UCSB W Volleyball (@UCSB_Volleyball) December 2, 2019
This will be the first NCAA appearance for UCSB seniors Chloe Allen, Torre Glasker, Charlie Robinson and three-time All-American Lindsey Ruddins.
The Gauchos last played in the tournament in 2013 — Nicole Lantagne Welch’s first year at the helm.
Santa Barbara finished the regular season with a 22-5 overall record, the most wins since 2009. UCSB placed third in the Big West with a 12-4 conference record, and joined conference champion and No. 12 seed Hawai’i, as well as at-large selection Cal Poly in the field. It was also the first time since 2013 that three teams from the Big West made the tournament.
Hawai’i (24-3) will host a four-team sub-regional in Honolulu on Friday and Saturday. The Wahine Warriors play Northern Colorado (26-7) while University of San Diego (24-5) and Washington State (23-9) clash in the other first-round match.
Cal Poly (20-8) is headed to the Stanford sub-Regional, where it opens against Georgia (20-9) on Friday. Stanford (24-4), the No. 3 seed, plays Denver (23-3) in the other first-round match.
First and second-round matches will be played Dec. 5-7 at 16 campus sites. Teams winning both matches will continue to regional play Dec. 13-14 at four non-predetermined campus sites, which will be announced on Dec. 8. At each site, four teams will compete in single-elimination regional semifinal competition.
The regional winners will advance to the national semifinals and championship final at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Dec. 19 and 21.
The tournament’s top four seeds are Baylor, Texas, Stanford and Wisconsin.