Huskies Headed For Madison For NCAA Opener
SEATTLE – Washington Volleyball earned its 21st-consecutive NCAA Championships bid today and is bound for Madison, Wisc. for the tourney's first weekend. The Huskies received one of the four No. 8 seeds in the 64-team field, and will take on TCU on Friday, Dec. 2, at 2:30 p.m. Pacific time at Wisconsin's UW Field House.
Following Washington and TCU's first round showdown, No. 1-seed Wisconsin, the defending NCAA Champion, will take on Quinnipiac. The winners will then play on Saturday, Dec. 3, at 4 p.m. Pacific for a place in the regional semis. All first and second round matches will be live streamed.
New for this year, the top 32 teams are seeded nationally in pods of four and placed within four regions. Per the established bracketing principles, the top seeds are provided the opportunity to host. Additionally, team pairings are determined within the pods (ones paired with eights, twos paired with sevens, threes paired with sixes and fours paired with fives) and assigned geographically within their pods, with the exception that teams from the same conference are not paired during the first- and second-rounds.
This is Washington's 27th tournament appearance and 21st in a row, going back to the 2002 season. The Huskies finished the regular season at 20-10 and fifth in the Pac-12 with a 12-8 conference record. Washington dealt with its share of adversity through the year, with multiple injuries that kept the lineup in flux, but UW was led throughout by senior All-Americans Ella May Powell, Claire Hoffman, and Marin Grote, who all bring a wealth of NCAA tournament success.
It's the first time UW has traveled for the opening rounds of the tournament since 2018, the freshman season for the current seniors, when UW was able to get an upset in the second round at Creighton to reach the round of 16.
"A lot of excitement as it's the first time in a while where we haven't known exactly what we'd be doing in the first weekend," said Head Coach Keegan Cook. "Thrilled to be headed somewhere where we've competed before, against a really solid team from the Big 12."
Many of the current Huskies have played in Madison, as the Huskies got a big road win over the Badgers in 2019.
"We know it's a great environment, and that's what we're most excited for. We know we'll be performing in front of a crowd that supports volleyball, against some really good teams. So it hits the mark on everything we were hoping for," Cook said.
The Huskies and Horned Frogs have never played. TCU went 16-10 overall and 11-5 in Big 12 play, winning its final five matches of the season including an upset over then-No. 10 Baylor. It is TCU's first NCAA tourney bid since 2016.
Washington has now advanced to NCAAs in all eight of Coach Cook's seasons. Cook thinks these Huskies are capable of something special.
"Just lean into the new beginning of the tournament," is the message Cook shared with his players. "I was really pleased with our poise and communication in a really tough environment in Pullman (on Friday). That's exactly what we'll need this week. We started this season out with a vision of needing to be great on the road in the tournament. So we're here, and it's time to go for it."
The regional winners will advance to the national semifinals and championship final hosted by Nebraska in conjunction with the Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority (MECA), December 15-17 at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.