2016 NCAA Volleyball Tournament
- Rounds 1 & 2: December 1-3
- Regional Rounds (3 & 4): December 9-10
- Semifinals & Final: December 15 and 17
- Full bracket
Earlier tonight, the NCAA announced the first-round matchups and host sites for its 2016 National Championship Tournament. Here’s a quick look at the matchups in the bottom right of the bracket:
Here is the bottom right quarter of the bracket! #NCAAVB pic.twitter.com/r21NVqpgrH
— NCAA Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) November 28, 2016
#2 Minnesota vs North Dakota
- Host site: Minnesota
- 2016 Head-to-Head: Minnesota won 3-1 on September 16 at home
- 2015 NCAA Tournament Results:
- Minnesota: lost 1-3 to Texas in semifinals
- North Dakota: N/A
It’ll be a border battle in Minnesota’s bracket, with the North Dakota Fighting Hawks heading to Minneapolis for their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. The Gophers are streaking after beating #1 seed Nebraska and #3 seed Wisconsin last week to end the regular season.
Hawaii vs USC
- Host site: Minnesota
- 2016 Head-to-Head: N/A
- 2015 NCAA Tournament Results:
- Hawaii: lost 1-3 to Minnesota in 4th round
- USC: lost 2-3 to Kansas in 4th round
A pair of teams that went deep into the tournament last year meet in round 1. USC was the #1 seed a year ago but is unseeded this year after going just .500 in the Pac-12. Hawaii won the Big West and could face a rematch with Minnesota (who knocked out the Rainbow Wahine in the quarterfinals last year) as early as round 2.
#15 Missouri vs Northern Illinois
- Host site: Missouri
- 2016 Head-to-Head: N/A
- 2015 NCAA Tournament Results:
- Missouri: lost 0-3 to Kansas in the 2nd round
- Northern Illinois: N/A
Missouri won the SEC in the eleventh hour, passing up Kentucky and winning a tiebreaker with Florida. They’ll face NIU, which makes its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011 after winning the MAC.
Purdue vs Iowa State
- Host site: Missouri
- 2016 Head-to-Head: N/A
- 2015 NCAA Tournament Results:
- Purdue: lost 1-3 to Texas in 2nd round
- Iowa State: lost 0-3 to Wisconsin in 2nd round
A couple of perennial NCAA Tourney participants here: Iowa State has played in 11 straight postseason tournaments, while Purdue has been to 11 of the last 13. Iowa State is surging, having won 8 of its last 9, including an upset of #4 tourney seed Texas. Purdue has been beat up in the tough Big Ten lately, but does have a big win over Big 12 champs Kansas to its credit. Kansas swept Iowa State this year.
#7 North Carolina vs High Point
- Host site: North Carolina
- 2016 Head-to-Head: N/A
- 2015 NCAA Tournament Results:
- UNC: lost 0-3 to Creighton in 2nd round
- High Point: N/A
High Point rolled through the Big South Tournament to win its second-ever conference title, and will now take on UNC, which won the ACC. It was a tough year for the ACC, with only three teams making the tournament (UNC, Florida State, Pitt). A High Point win could set up a rematch with Coastal Carolina, which won the Big South last year but moved conferences this season.
James Madison vs Coastal Carolina
- Host site: North Carolina
- 2016 Head-to-Head: N/A
- 2015 NCAA Tournament Results:
- James Madison: N/A
- Coastal Carolina: lost 1-3 to Creighton in 1st round
A pair of mid-major conference champs meet in this one. Coastal Carolina won the Sun Belt this year in its first year in the conference. They won the Big South a year ago. The Chanticleers have won 17 straight matches this season. One more win would be a program record. James Madison, meanwhile, won the CAA to earn its third NCAA appearance in Division I and its first since the year 2000. The two programs have met only twice in history, with James Madison winning both matches – first in 1991 and again in 2011.
#10 UCLA vs Murray State
- Host site: UCLA
- 2016 Head-to-Head: N/A
- 2015 NCAA Tournament Results:
- UCLA: lost 1-3 to Texas in 3rd round
- Murray State: N/A
Murray State gets a return trip to the NCAA Tournament after making the cut in 2014 but missing in 2015. They draw UCLA, who just missed the Pac-12 title, losing what turned out to be the conference decider last week at Washington. UCLA made a run last year as a 14 seed and will host this match and the next round’s matchup.
San Diego vs Baylor
- Host site: UCLA
- 2016 Head-to-Head: N/A
- 2015 NCAA Tournament Results:
- San Diego: lost 0-3 to USC in 2nd round
- Baylor: N/A
We had Baylor as one of our first 8 out after the Bears lost 3 of 4 to end the season. But those turned out to be quality losses to NCAA tournament participants (including a 2-3 loss to Big 12 champs Kansas) and Baylor made the cut. San Diego gets a pretty solid draw here after just missing the WCC title. A road loss to Pepperdine put San Diego out of the running and handed the title to BYU, which ended up as a 13-seed.
Other notes:
- Hawaii and USC get one of the tougher draws in terms of host site – the two Pacific-based programs will head to frigid Minnesota for their first and second round matches.
- This portion of the bracket features the lowest-seeded of the Big 5 Conference champs. UNC is at 7 after winning the ACC and Mizzou at 15 after winning the SEC.
- North Dakota makes its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
- Minnesota vs North Dakota is one of just three regular season rematches in the first round of the tournament. The others are Creighton vs UNI and Michigan vs American.
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