The Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament officially moved to a neutral site today when the conference formally announced it will be held at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

The conference is counting on the cash the move saves because of its central location and low hotel rates. It is also counting on the money it should bring in, particularly from Hawai'i fans who have traveled by the hundreds to previous tournaments in Nevada.

"WAC volleyball has brought national attention to the WAC and this move will allow us to really showcase our premier women's sport," Commissioner Karl Benson said. "WAC fans have shown that they enjoy traveling to Las Vegas and I am certain the Orleans Arena will create a great tournament environment for them along with our student-athletes."

The tournament will be cut back to six teams, with the bottom four seeds playing Nov. 23, semifinals the following day and the championship Nov. 25.

The West Coast Conference held its men's and women's basketball tournament at the Orleans in March. The venue is also home to the Las Vegas Invitational and Las Vegas Classic annual collegiate basketball tournaments, and has hosted several other sporting events including AVP Volleyball, Las Vegas Wranglers hockey, Las Vegas Gladiators arena football and several boxing and mixed martial arts events.

Former Rainbow men's basketball coach Riley Wallace is "executive host" for Boyd Gaming properties, including the Orleans Arena.

"Having the tournament at the Orleans Arena is good for a couple of reasons," Hawai'i coach Dave Shoji said. "One is that it is a neutral site, which is really important to the coaches who want a championship atmosphere that is as fair as possible to all schools competing. The second reason is that Las Vegas is a resort destination and is likely to attract WAC fans from all institutions. I remember when the WAC Tournament was in Las Vegas in the past, it seemed to attract more fans, and with the Orleans Arena venue, it will make for an exciting neutral stage."

The WAC Tournament was played at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas from 1996-98, when UNLV was a member of the WAC. Brigham Young beat the Rainbow Wahine in the 1996 and '97 finals. The 'Bows rallied to win in 1998, in the longest match in NCAA history, and have not lost a WAC title since.

All-session tournament tickets are $45 and single-session tickets $20. They go on sale next Friday (May 8).