Tournament Central
BOWLING GREEN, Ky.-The No. 17 Western Kentucky University volleyball team (32-3) is set for its third-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, as the team travels to Stanford, Calif., to take on Loyola Marymount in the first round on Friday, November 30 at 7:30 p.m. CT at Maples Pavilion.
If the Lady Toppers advance, they will take on the winner of Jackson State (24-11) and host Stanford (27-3), who holds the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament, on Saturday, December 1 at 9 p.m. CT.
"In a lot of ways it is like looking in a mirror," WKU head coach Travis Hudson said on the Lions. "They do a lot of things that we do. One of the big differences is when you look at their record, you may think they are a marginal team, but they are in a league that sent six teams to the NCAA Tournament this year, and they will be battle tested. They have seen high-level play every day. That won't be something that worries them.
"They are balanced. They have a big-time outside hitter, but they are still balanced. They run a system similar to what we do. I guess that makes it a little easier to prepare, but makes it easier for them to prepare as well."
LMU is led offensively by 6-1, outside hitter Kathleen Luft with 459 kills this season, good for a 4.14 average per set. Following Luft is 6-1, middle blocker Litara Keil with a 3.13 kills per set average while also acting as a force at the net with 115 blocks. Hannah Tedrow sets the offense in motion as she has passed out 1,045 assists while Betsi Metter leads the back row in digs with 511 this season.
Game Information
- No. 17 WKU vs. Loyola Marymount; Friday, November 30 at 7:30 p.m. CT; Stanford, Calif.
Other Information
- Live stats will be available through Stanford's website, GoStanford.com
- Live video streaming will be available through Stanford's website, GoStanford.com
Quick Notes-Lady Toppers in the NCAA Tournament
- WKU is making its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance after earning the Sun Belt Conference's automatic bid for the second year in a row. It is the fifth time in program history that the Lady Tops earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament by winning the league tournament crown while they have earned at-large bids two times.
- 2012 marks a special year for the WKU program. This year marked the 10th anniversary of the first Lady Topper team to win the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and make it to the program's first-ever NCAA appearance in 2002. In 2002, WKU traveled to Honolulu to take on Hawai'i. Until this year, the team has stayed closer to home for the tournament, playing in Louisville, Ky., Lincoln, Neb., and three times, including the past two years, in Champaign, Ill.
- WKU leads the Sun Belt in NCAA Tournament appearances at seven while MTSU follows with six, Arkansas State and UALR with five each, and FIU with three. All of WKU and MTSU's tournament appearances have come within the last 10 years.
- The Lady Toppers will be looking to make history over the weekend, as the team has never won a NCAA Tournament first-round match. WKU came close in 2008 against Cincinnati after taking sets three and four before falling 10-15 in the fifth frame. WKU has lost 0-3 in three NCAA Tournament matches while falling 1-3 in two matches.
- WKU has faced six opponents in this year's field of 64. The Lady Toppers sport a 3-3 record against those opponents.
- This will be the first meeting between WKU and Loyola Marymount. The Lady Toppers have played two West Coast Conference schools in program history: Portland in 1991 and San Francisco in 2006. WKU dropped both of the matches by a score of 1-3.
- If the Lady Toppers advance to Saturday, they could face Jackson State for the first time in school history while playing Stanford for the second time. WKU met up with Stanford in 2004 where the Lady Toppers fell 1-3.
