Volleyball Team Earns At-Large Selection to NCAA Tournament
 
RedHawks Will Face Middle Tennessee State on Friday in West Lafayette

 
 
 

 
 
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Nov. 30, 2008

 

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OXFORD, Ohio - The Miami University volleyball team earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament Sunday night. The RedHawks (21-11) will face Middle Tennessee State (26-7) on Friday in West Lafayette, Ind. on the campus of Purdue University at 4 p.m. The 10th overall seed Purdue (24-8) will face Louisville (19-10) in the other first round match at 6:30 p.m. The two winners will meet in the second round of the tournament on Saturday at 5 p.m.

This is the third time Miami has earned at-large NCAA berth and second consecutive for the RedHawks overall. It is the first time they have earned an at-large bid without winning the MAC regular season title. Last season, the RedHawks earned an automatic berth with a victory in the MAC Tournament Championship.

Miami has had a strong season so far, the 21 wins represent the most for the school since it won 27 in 1998. Wins over other NCAA Tournament teams such as Western Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee Tech helped sway the selection committee in its favor. Playing a difficult schedule, which also featured matches against other tournament teams such as Saint Louis, Western Michigan, Purdue, Louisville and Dayton helped the RedHawks build a strong RPI, which along with head-to-head competition against other tournament teams, is one of the top ways the at-large bids are decided.

The RedHawks reached the semifinals of the MAC Tournament two weekends ago, falling to eventual champion Ohio, 1-3. This past weekend, Miami defeated IPFW 3-1 on Friday and Marquette 3-0 at Western Michigan's Thanksgiving tournament.

Middle Tennessee State finished second in the Sun Belt Conference East Division with a 14-3 record. It reached the tournament semifinals, falling to eventual champion Western Kentucky, 0-3. The Blue Raiders also participated in a Thanksgiving tournament this past weekend, falling to Saint Louis in a five set thriller on Friday, before coming back to defeat Connecticut 3-2 on Saturday. MTSU is led by junior setter Leslie Clark with an average of 11.70 assists per set, which ranks fifth in the nation.

Keep checking back with www.MURedHawks.com for all the latest Miami Volleyball NCAA Tournament Information.


 

 

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