The Arkansas State volleyball squad will play Michigan State in the first round of 2015 NCAA Volleyball Tournament in Seattle, Wash., the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball committee announced Sunday night.
The Red Wolves will take on Michigan State Friday, Dec. 4, at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion on the campus No. 5 national seed Washington in Seattle, Wash., with first serve set for 7 p.m. (CT). Washington will play the champion of the Summit League and former Sun Belt Conference member Denver following the A-State-MSU match at approximately 9:30 p.m. (CT). The winners of the two matches will play in a second round matchup slated for 9 p.m. (CT) Saturday.
Arkansas State, ranked No. 25 in the AVCA Coaches Poll, claimed the Sun Belt regular-season and conference tournament title with the latter clinching the league’s automatic bid to the field of 64. The Red Wolves are 28-1 overall and own the nation’s longest winning streak at 24 matches. Michigan State is 18-13 on the year and went 10-10 in the Big Ten, which led all conferences with nine selections into the field.
The appearance in the NCAA Tournament is the fifth all-time for the Red Wolves’ volleyball program and first since the 1999 campaign. The team is 0-4 in its previous appearances and dropped a 3-0 decision to Pepperdine in its most recent NCAA Tournament match.
First-and second-round matches will be played at 16 campus sites. Teams winning both matches will move on to regional play December 11 and 12. The pre-determined regional sites are Austin, Texas, Des Moines, Iowa, Lexington, Ky., and San Diego, Calif. All regional semifinal matches will be shown on ESPN3. Regional final matches will air on ESPNU.
The regional winners will advance to the semifinals and final hosted by Nebraska at CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Neb., on December 17 and 19. Both national semifinal matches as well as the championship match will be broadcast by ESPN2. All regional and championship site match times can be found on the attached championship bracket.
For the latest on the A-State volleyball team fans can follow the squad on Twitter (@stAteVolleyball) and Instagram (astatevolleyball).