Michigan State University Athletics
MSU Volleyball Selected For Eighth Straight NCAA Tournament
11/26/2001 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 26, 2001
Audio Announcement
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State volleyball team will be making its eighth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the team learned today. The Spartans will face Notre Dame in the opening round Friday, Nov. 30, at 5 p.m. Central time in Madison, Wis. Big Ten champion Wisconsin is the host of the four-team sub-regional, and will face Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the other first-round matchup Friday. The winners of the two first-round matches will meet on Saturday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m.
Michigan State finished the regular season with a 20-7 overall record, and a 13-7 mark in the Big Ten, which tied the Spartans for fourth in the league. MSU had started the conference season with a 4-6 record, but went 9-1 in the second half of the league season to secure the NCAA Tournament bid. The Spartans, who are ranked 20th in the Nov. 26 USA Today/AVCA coaches poll, defeated four nationally-ranked teams during the second half surge, including back to back wins at No. 9 Ohio State and No.14 Penn State Nov. 23-24.
Notre Dame, which is ranked No. 25 nationally, finished the regular season with a 22-6 record, including a perfect 12-0 mark in the Big East.
Wisconsin is the NCAA Tournament's sixth seed overall and owns a 25-3 record. The Badgers, last year's national runners-up, won the Big Ten title for the second straight year with a 19-1 league mark. Wisconsin-Milwaukee, MSU's first round opponent in last year's NCAA Tournament, finished 20-7 and won the Horizon League title with a 12-2 conference record.
NCAA Notes:
? Michigan State is making its eighth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament - all under head coach Chuck Erbe.
? The Spartans own an all-time record of 8-7 in the NCAA Tournament.
? MSU's all-time record in the first round of the NCAA Tournament is 3-2 (two first-round byes).
? This will be MSU's first ever meeting with Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans have a 5-3 all-time record against the Fighting Irish, with the last meeting being a 3-2 win for MSU in South Bend, Sept. 10, 2000.
? In last season's NCAA Tournament, MSU made its second straight trip to California for the tournament, defeating Wisconsin-Milwaukee in four games before falling to host UCLA in five games.
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