The Nebraska volleyball team was selected as the No. 7 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament on Sunday night and will host the NCAA Tournament first and second rounds at the Bob Devaney Sports Center next weekend.
The defending national champion Huskers, making their 37th straight NCAA Tournament appearance, will open the tournament on Friday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. against the Hofstra Pride (25-7), champions of the Colonial Athletic Association. The 4:30 p.m. match will feature the Missouri Tigers (23-7) of the SEC and the Arizona Wildcats (22-10) of the Pac-12. Friday's winners will meet on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.
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Stanford, Minnesota, Illinois and BYU received the top four seeds from the NCAA Tournament committee. Should those teams all advance past the first weekend, they would host an NCAA regional the following weekend. Nebraska is in Minnesota's region along with No. 10 national seed Kentucky and No. 15 Oregon. The Huskers would only have an opportunity to host an NCAA regional if they advance past the opening two rounds and Minnesota gets upset in the first or second round.
There are no tickets available for the first and second rounds in Lincoln, but if there are any visiting team ticket returns, they would go on sale Wednesday at 10 a.m. If available, those could be purchased through Huskers.com/tickets, by calling 402-472-3111 or in person at the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office.
The Huskers, who have won eight straight matches, finished the regular season 24-6 overall and 15-5 in the Big Ten Conference. Nebraska will face a familiar NCAA Tournament foe in Hofstra, who visited Lincoln for an NCAA first round match in 2014. The Pride defeated James Madison 3-2 in the CAA championship match on Nov. 18. Missouri went 23-7 overall and 13-5 in the SEC, finishing fourth in the conference. Arizona finished 22-10 overall and 11-9 in the Pac-12, good for fifth place in the conference standings. The Wildcats played in an NCAA Regional in Lincoln in 2016.
The 2018 season marks the 34th time that Lincoln has hosted NCAA first and second round competition. Nebraska is 108-31 (.777) in 36 previous NCAA Tournament appearances. The 2018 Husker squad is looking to become the first Nebraska volleyball team to reach four straight final fours. This year's NCAA Championship is set for December 13-15 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
NCAA First and Second Round Schedule
First Round – Friday, Nov. 30
4:30 p.m. – Missouri vs. Arizona
7 p.m. – Nebraska vs. Hofstra
Second Round – Saturday, Dec. 1
7 p.m. – First Round Winners
