BATON ROUGE — For the first time in 13 seasons, the LSU volleyball team qualified for the NCAA Tournament when the 64-team field was announced on ESPNews on Sunday afternoon.
The Tigers (21-7), who earned an at-large bid after winning their first SEC Western Division Championship in school history, will face at-large opponent Texas (23-4) in the first round in Gregory Gym in Austin, Texas, on Friday at 7 p.m.
No. 7 national seed Hawai’i, the automatic qualifier from the Western Athletic Conference, will take on Texas State, the automatic qualifier from the Southland Conference, in an earlier match on Friday at 5 p.m. If LSU advances past Texas, it will take on the winner of the Hawai’i-Texas State match on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
“This is a great accomplishment for our program,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “We were confident that our play during the season had secured us a place in the tournament, but it is still a great feeling to see your name on the screen.”
The Regional Finals for LSU’s bracket will be held in State College, Pa., home of Penn State, the No. 2 national seed. The NCAA Final Four will be held in San Antonio in the Alamodome. The Tigers participated in the Dome Rally earlier this season in the Alamodome, going 2-1 in the tournament with the lone loss to then-nationally ranked Texas A&M in five games.
LSU also played in the Sugar Bowl Classic in Texas, which was moved to Texas A&M after Hurricane Katrina forced Tulane to change venues. The Tigers biggest success of the year came in College Station when LSU went 3-0 and topped No. 7 Notre Dame.
“We figured that we would probably be sent to Austin all along,” said Flory, who played for the Longhorns’ 1981 AIAW National Championship team. “We have had some great success this season when playing in the state of Texas, perhaps because we have several players from the state and it is like playing at home for them. We think that we have the opportunity to be successful.”
The Tigers are making their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since making four consecutive appearances from 1989-1992. Overall, LSU is making its seventh appearance in the NCAA Tournament and has posted a 10-6 record. The Tigers are one of only two teams in the SEC to advance to the NCAA Final Four, making appearances in both 1990 and 1991.
LSU is 6-6 this season against teams in the NCAA Tournament, but won three of their last four against tournament teams. The Tigers have not played anyone in their regional bracket this season. LSU is 4-17 all-time against Texas, including a 1-2 record in NCAA Tournament play. The Tigers are 3-1 against Texas State and 0-3 against Hawai’i all-time, but have never faced either team in NCAA Tournament play.
In addition to LSU, five Southeastern Conference teams earned bids to the NCAA Tournament. Along with LSU, SEC Champion Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee were chosen to participate in the postseason tournament. Alabama is one of four teams making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in school history.
The six teams selected from the SEC are a record for the conference, shattering the previous high of four teams. This will also mark the first time in SEC history that four or more teams were selected to the NCAA Tournament field in consecutive years.
2005 NCAA Volleyball Tournament Pairings
Dec. 2-3
at Lincoln, Neb.
(1) Nebraska (28-1) vs. Alabama A&M (15-11)
American (25-9) vs. Duke (23-7)
Dec. 2-3
at Los Angeles, Calif.
(16) UCLA (18-10) vs. Kansas (15-14)
Long Beach St. (25-6) vs. San Diego (22-5)
Dec. 2-3
at Louisville, Ky.
(9) Louisville (29-2) vs. Western Kentucky (31-2)
Kentucky (17-11) vs. Maryland (27-4)
Dec. 1-2
at Gainesville, Fla.
(8) Florida (30-2) vs. Florida Atlantic (29-2)
Kansas St. (20-10) vs. Florida A&M (22-5)
Dec. 2-3
at Palo Alto, Calif.
(5) Stanford (25-5) vs. Nevada (18-12)
Santa Clara (23-4) vs. Sacramento St. (26-8)
Dec. 2-3
at Los Angeles, Calif.
(12) USC (16-10) vs. UC-Santa Barbara (21-8)
Pepperdine (17-11) vs. BYU (25-3)
Dec. 2-3
at Columbus, Ohio
(13) Ohio St. (21-8) vs. Marshall (26-5)
Ohio (31-2) vs. Alabama (23-10)
Dec. 2-3
at Salt Lake City, Utah
(4) Arizona (22-5) vs. Utah St. (21-12)
Utah (22-8) vs. Loyola Marymount (19-10)
Dec. 2-3
at Ft. Collins, Colo.
(3) Washington (26-1) vs. Siena (20-11)
Colorado St. (20-8) vs. Colorado (15-12)
Dec. 2-3
at Chapel Hill, N.C.
(14) Purdue (23-8) vs. Virginia Commonwealth (22-11)
North Carolina (23-9) vs. College of Charleston (30-1)
Dec. 2-3
at Madison, Wisc.
(11) Wisconsin (23-6) vs. Loyola (Ill.) (13-17)
Valparaiso (27-7) vs. Cal (18-10)
Dec. 1-2
at South Bend, Ill.
(6) Notre Dame (28-3) vs. Dayton (24-10)
Northwestern (19-11) vs. Texas A&M (16-13)
Dec. 2-3
at Austin, Texas
(7) Hawai’i (25-6) vs. Texas St. (17-14)
Texas (23-4) vs. LSU (21-7)
Dec. 2-3
at Columbia, Mo.
(10) Missouri (22-4) vs. Missouri St. (24-8)
Arkansas (20-11) vs. St. Mary’s (Calif.) (19-9)
Dec. 2-3
at Knoxville, Tenn.
(15) Tennessee (21-8) vs. Jacksonville St. (19-10)
Winthrop (28-5) vs. Minnesota (24-7)
Dec. 2-3
at State College, Pa.
(2) Penn St. (29-2) vs. Binghamton (20-11)
Cornell (19-5) vs. Long Island (25-13)
LSU IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Overall Record: 10-6
Best Finish: Final Four (1990 & 1991)
1986
FIRST ROUND – BATON ROUGE, LA.
defeated Arizona 15-12, 5-15, 15-12, 12-15, 15-9
SOUTH REGIONAL – AUSTIN, TEXAS
defeated Texas-Arlington 15-7, 15-5, 15-9
lost to Texas 3-15, 11-15, 13-15
1987
FIRST ROUND – GAINESVILLE, FLA.
lost to Florida 10-15, 15-7, 10-15, 15-10, 10-15
1989
FIRST ROUND – BATON ROUGE, LA.
defeated Houston 13-15, 15-12, 8-15, 15-7, 15-3
SOUTH REGIONAL – AUSTIN, TEXAS
lost to Texas-Arlington 15-13, 15-11, 11-15, 13-15, 5-15
1990
FIRST ROUND – BATON ROUGE, LA.
defeated Louisville 15-9, 15-1, 15-7
SOUTH REGIONAL – AUSTIN, TEXAS
defeated Texas Tech 15-11, 15-12, 15-5
defeated Texas 8-15, 4-15, 15-10, 15-11, 17-15
FINAL FOUR – COLLEGE PARK, MD.
lost to UCLA 13-15, 10-15, 6-15
1991
FIRST ROUND – BATON ROUGE, LA.
defeated Houston 15-5, 15-5, 16-14
SOUTH REGIONAL – BATON ROUGE, LA.
defeated Texas Tech 15-6, 15-7, 15-10
defeated Florida 15-10, 15-10, 12-15, 15-13
FINAL FOUR – LOS ANGELES, CALIF.
lost to Long Beach State 13-15, 15-6, 10-15, 13-15
1992
FIRST ROUND – LUBBOCK, TEXAS
defeated Texas Tech 15-7, 15-8, 15-5
SOUTH REGIONAL – GAINESVILLE, FLA.
lost to Texas 9-15, 15-13, 12-15, 4-15