No. 13 seed BYU to host first two rounds of NCAA Tournament

PROVO, Utah – No. 13 seed BYU women’s volleyball will participate in the 2017 NCAA Tournament, hosting American Friday night at the Smith Fieldhouse in the first round.

“We're excited to be hosting the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament,” BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. “We look forward to opening up the tournament against a very good American team as well as hosting Kennesaw State and Oregon.”

The Cougars (28-2, 17-1 West Coast Conference) will play against American in the first round and the winner of that match will compete against the winner of the match between Kennesaw State and Oregon, also to be played at the Smith Fieldhouse.

BYU and American will play Friday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m. MST with Kennesaw State and Oregon facing off right before at 4 p.m. MST on Elaine Michaelis Court. The winners of each match will play Saturday, Dec. 2, at 7 p.m. MST in the second round.

BYU, American, Kennesaw State and Oregon are part of the Kentucky Region. Saturday’s winner will advance to the regional semifinals on Dec. 8 - to be played at the site of the highest remaining seed in the quadrant.

The Cougars are seeded No. 13 for the third-straight season. BYU has advanced to the regional semifinals in five-straight seasons, including advancing to the national championship match in 2014.

First and second round opponents

American

• American finished the regular season with a 26-7 overall record and a 15-1 first-place finish in the Patriot League.
• The Eagles are currently riding an 18-match win streak.
• American has won three NCAA tournament matches in the last four seasons, including advancing to the regional semifinals in 2013.
• The Eagles are led by 4.77 kills per set from Aleksandra Kazala, 8.87 assists per set by Kennedy Etheridge, 4.36 digs per set from Kristen Largay and 1.21 blocks per set from Cheyenne Orsi.
• The Cougars hold a perfect 3-0 record all-time against American, having last won in four sets in 2008.

Kennesaw State

• Kennesaw State is 21-4, 13-1 ASUN this season and have won 12-straight matches, including its first-ever ASUN Tournament.
• This will be the Owls’ first NCAA tournament appearance.
• Kennesaw State is led by 3.32 kills per set from Anaiah Boyer, 10.51 assists per set by Kristi Piedimonte, 4.37 digs per set from Katarina Morton and 1.17 blocks per set from Liesl Engelbrecht.
• BYU has never before competed against the Owls.

Oregon

• Oregon is 17-11, 10-10 Pac-12, good for eighth place in league play.
• The Ducks fell in the second round of the NCAA tournament a season ago.
• BYU is 9-2 all-time against Oregon.
• The Ducks and Cougars last played in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, with Oregon taking a four-set decision in the regional semifinals. The Ducks went on to play that season in the national championship match.
• Oregon is led by 2.98 kills per set from Taylor Agost, 6.25 assists per set from Maggie Scott, 3.17 digs per set by Alex Hojnar and 1.10 blocks per set from Sumeet Gill.

Previous opponents

The WCC earned just two spots in the tournament for the second-consecutive season. Although tying for the league championship, San Diego received the auto-bid to the tournament this season through tiebreakers.

Five of BYU’s opponents this season made it into the NCAA tournament. Besides the Toreros, Missouri, Hawai’i, Utah and Baylor all earned spots in the tournament. BYU is 4-2 this year against teams participating in this year’s tournament.

Additional Info

Tickets

All-session general admission tickets are now on sale beginning at $11. Single session tickets are available for purchase starting Dec. 1 for $7 each in general admission. Chair and courtside seats are also available for purchase. Visit the BYU Ticket website for ticket purchases.

Television

All matches featuring BYU will be televised nationally live on BYUtv. The BYU matches, including BYU vs. American, will also be streamed live on BYUtv.org and ESPN3.

All non-BYU matches will be streamed live on TheW.tv and ESPN3.