Championship Bracket Announced

INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA Men’s Volleyball Committee announced Sunday the bracket for the 2009 National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship. The semifinals and final will take place May 7 and 9, in Provo, Utah, at the Smith Fieldhouse as BYU hosts for the first time.

Four teams were selected to compete for the championship. Automatic qualification was awarded to the University of Southern California (23-11), the winner of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation; Ohio State University (17-10), winner of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association; and Penn State University (27-3), winner of the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. One team, University of California, Irvine (25-5), was selected at-large.

Semifinal No. 1 will be #2 seed Penn St. versus #3 seed Southern California and will be broadcast on live on Thursday, May 7 at 9 p.m. Eastern time on ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN360.com simulcast. Semifinal No. 2 will be #1 seed UC Irvine versus #4 seed Ohio State and will be broadcast live on Thursday, May 7 at 11 p.m. Eastern time on ESPNU. The national championship match will be broadcast live on Saturday, May 9 at 7 p.m. Eastern time on ESPN2 and ESPN360.com simulcast.

Volleyball fans are encouraged to visit Volley Village, a free admission, interactive, family-friendly volleyball carnival in the Smith Fieldhouse Annex both Thursday and Saturday. Visitors will enjoy live entertainment, food, prize giveaways, interactive booths and merchandise sales. Doors open at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday and 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Tickets for the Championship are still available for purchase at the Marriott Center Ticket Office. The ticket office may be reached at (801) 422-BYU1 or toll-free at (800) 322-BYU1. Tickets may also be purchased online by clicking HERE.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Semifinal #1: No. 2 Penn St. vs. No. 3 USC

Thursday, May 7 (9 p.m. ET/7 p.m. MT)

- Television: ESPN2/ESPNU Live

- Internet: ESPN360.com

Semifinal #2: No. 1 UCI vs. No. 4 Ohio St.

Thursday, May 7 (11 p.m. ET/9 p.m. MT)

- Television: ESPNU Live; ESPN2 Tape delay

- Internet: none

Finals: Winner of semifinal #1 vs. winner of semifinal #2

Saturday, May 9 (7 p.m. ET/5 p.m. MT)

- Television: ESPN2

- Internet: ESPN360.com