BYU women’s volleyball receives No. 16 seed, first-round bye for NCAA Tournament

PROVO, Utah – BYU women’s volleyball obtained the No. 16 seed and a first-round bye for the 2020-21 NCAA Tournament. The Cougars will face the winner of the Rider and UCLA matchup on Thursday, April 15 at 9:30 p.m. CDT in the CHI Health Center Arena in Omaha, Nebraska.

The second-round matchup will be streamed on ESPN3 and the ESPN App. First- and second-round attendance will be limited to players and player guests.

BYU Match Notes

“We’re excited to be the No. 16 seed and grateful to be in the tournament,” said BYU head coach Heather Olmstead. “We’re excited to watch a good match between Rider and UCLA, and we’ll be preparing for both teams. We’ve been preparing all season for this moment, so we’re going to be ready regardless.”

This marks BYU women’s volleyball’s ninth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and has been seeded in seven of those seasons. The Cougars have reached the Sweet 16 seven of the last eight years, including a national semifinal finish in 2018 and a national title game in 2014. BYU ended the 2020-21 regular season with a 16-1 overall record while going 15-1 in West Coast Conference play to win the league title for the sixth time in seven years.

BYU and UCLA have faced each other 30 times since 1972 with the Bruins leading the overall series 24-5-1. The two teams have met 11 times in the postseason (NCAA/AIAW) with the Cougars going 3-8 in those matchups. Since the start of the rally era in 2001, BYU has only played UCLA twice (2004, 2009) and dropped both matches.

The Bruins are one of five Pac-12 teams in the NCAA Tournament after finishing with a 14-6 record while playing a conference-only schedule. UCLA finished fifth in the Pac-12 while the top four teams in the league were among the top 16 teams seeded for the 2020-21 NCAA Tournament.

Depending on the outcome of the first round, BYU may get its first opportunity to play Rider. After opening the season 1-4, the Broncs won six straight matches, including all three matches at the MAAC Championship to earn the league’s automatic bid.

Rider and UCLA will play Wednesday, April 14 at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN3 and the ESPN App.

The NCAA decided to reduce the tournament field from the regular 64 teams to 48 this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With 16 fewer teams, the top 16 seeded teams all received a first-round bye. The entire 48-team, single-elimination tournament will be played in Omaha at the CHI Health Center Arena.

More information and the entire bracket can be found on the NCAA website.