Penn State is in the Big Dance with the Huge Ball

Penn State (#9 in last week’s AVCA Poll) emerged from Selection Sunday as the #8 seed in the 2011 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament. In the first round, the Nittany Lions will face Liberty (20-12 and the champion of the Big South conference) on Friday, December 2nd at Rec Hall at 7:30 p.m., with Delaware (20-12), the CAA champion taking on American (23-10), the Patriot League champions, in the other first round match at Rec Hall at 5 p.m. The winners of those matches will meet in the NCAA Second Round at 7:30 p.m. in Rec Hall on Saturday, Dec. 3rd.  For a link to the NCAA’s Interactive Bracket, Click Here.

Here’s an excerpt from gopsusports.com:

“Tournament time is the best time of year,” said sophomore Deja McClendon. “It’s when we really get to see all the best teams at their peak. The whole [team] is hyped to play in front of the Rec Hall crowd again. I’m really excited to see how our freshmen team members come out in their first tournament appearance.”

Penn State, which finished tied for second in the Big Ten with a 16-4 record, will be making its 31st 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. 2 seed Nebraska, No. 3 seed Illinois, No. 5 seed Purdue and No. 13 seed Minnesota, as well as Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State. The Big Ten Conference leads all conferences with eight teams selected.

Here’s the breakdown of all four NCAA Division 1 Regional matchups: