PROVO, Utah — No. 7-seed BYU women’s volleyball will travel to Pittsburgh to face James Madison at the Fitzgerald Fieldhouse in the First Round of the 2022 NCAA Division I Volleyball Tournament.
"We're super excited to be in the NCAA tournament," said BYU head coach Heather Olmstead. "I think our team has done a great job this season. I'm proud of the work that they've done to get to this point, how resilient our group has been, how we've stayed together and just keep getting better as the season goes on. I think we're playing some of our best volleyball, and we're excited to match up against a good JMU team. I know they're a good team, and they have good coaches. Lauren's a good coach, so they'll be ready to go, and we're excited to match up with them in Pittsburgh."
The Cougars (21-6, 15-3 WCC) will take on the Dukes (24-4, 15-1 Sun Belt) on Friday, Dec. 2 at 4 p.m. EST. Later that night, host Pitt will play Colgate at 7 p.m. EST. The winning teams from Friday's matches will then play a Second Round contest on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. EST. Further details on ticket information will be announced at a later date.
This year marks the 11th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 35th overall for BYU, who finished second in the West Coast Conference. The Cougars have either won the conference or finished runner-up in each of Olmstead's eight seasons at the helm.
BYU finished the regular season ranked No. 18 in the nation in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll, also ranking No. 5 nationwide in team hitting percentage (.297), No. 18 in kills per set (14.02) and No. 21 in assists per set (12.96).
Teams winning both matches this weekend will move on to regional play on Dec. 8 and 10. The regional winners will advance to the national semifinals and national championship on Dec. 15 and 17 at CHI Heath Center in Omaha, Nebraska, with the championship match being broadcast on ESPN2.
Senior middle blocker Heather Gneiting
On the opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament
"We're really excited. Our team has been putting in the work this whole season, and there's no better place to go than to Pitt for the first round and play JMU. We're ready to take it one game at a time and are just grateful for the opportunity to play every day."
Junior outside hitter Erin Livingston
On the excitement of the NCAA Tournament
"We're super excited. This Tournament has a ton of good teams in it. We're happy to be one of them, and we're ready to go."