After a fourth-place finish in the Big Ten, the UW women's volleyball team is gearing up for this weekend's NCAA playoff games. The Badgers are seeded fourteenth in the tournament and will be hosting first and second round games at the Field House.
\We were concerned that our loss at Purdue might take us out of chance of hosting,"" Head Coach Pete Waite said. ""So that's a great surprise for everybody-the players, the fans-everyone is excited to be here at home.""
This is the eighth consecutive year UW has received a tournament bid. The team finished fourth after a regular season record of 13-7 in the Big Ten and 19-9 overall.
Wisconsin matches up first against Loyola (21-8) at 7 p.m. Friday. The winner of Wisconsin's game will face the winner of the 5 p.m. battle between Notre Dame (20-8) and Valparaiso (29-4) Saturday at 7 p.m. The winner of the second-round game advances to Green Bay, Wis., Dec. 10 and 11 for the NCAA Regional Championships.
The NCAA Tournament Championships will be held Dec. 16 and 18 in Long Beach, Calif., at the Long Beach Arena. Other Big Ten bid winners in competition for the NCAA title include No. 2 Penn State, No. 4 Minnesota, No. 5 Ohio State, Illinois, Michigan and Purdue.
Wiconsin seems to have earned its spot in the playoffs after fighting through the plethora of Big Ten teams in the tournament.
""Seven teams is a lot for any conference,"" Waite said. ""It says a lot for the strength of the conference. My hope is that playing those strong teams prepares us for the NCAA tournament this weekend.""
Waite hopes the opportunity to play at home will provide the team with ""new life"" at the end of the Big Ten season.
