Posted at 2:32 p.m., Sunday, November 28, 2004
NCAA denies top-ranked Wahine home court for tournament
Advertiser Staff
Despite being the top-ranked team in the country, the University of Hawai'i women's volleyball team learned today it will have to travel to Fort Collins, Colo., to play a first-round match against Colorado in the NCAA Division I tournament on Thursday.The Rainbow Wahine (28-0) received the No. 3 seed overall in the tournament. Nebraska received the top seed, Penn State is No. 2 and Minnesota is No. 4.
The first- and second-round matches will be played Dec. 2 to Dec. 4.
Colorado is 14-13. Purdue (16-14) plays host Colorado State (26-3) in the other first-round match at Fort Collins. The winners of Thursday's matches will play on Friday, with the survivor advancing to the regional in Green Bay, Wis., on Dec. 10-11. The "home" team in that regional would be 14th-seeded Wisconsin (19-9). Other top seeds in the Green Bay regional are No. 6 Texas (24-4) and No. 11 Stanford (24-6). Texas and Wisconsin will play the first- and second-round matches on their home courts.
Washington, the No. 7 overall seed, will get to play the subregional and regional rounds at home in Seattle. No. 4 Minnesota will host a regional in Minneapolis. Top-seeded Nebraska was assigned to the Louisville, Ky., regional.
The final four will be at Long Beach State on Dec. 16 and 18.
Rice (25-4) of the Western Athletic Conference will play Michigan (19-12) in the Austin, Texas, subregional Dec. 3-4. Nevada (21-9) will play Wichita State (24-5), with the winner facing the Nebraska-Iona winner.
Click here for the full bracket, available in PDF format.
