Arkansas Volleyball Fact Sheet #14

The University of Arkansas dropped a pair of SEC matches at Mississippi and Mississippi State last weekend and now await word of a possible NCAA Tournament bid. The Lady’Backs put themselves in a precarious position with the losses and are at the mercy of the selection committee.

The NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship 64-team bracket will be announced on ESPNEWS between 3 and 3:30 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, November 26. There are no satellite coordinates that can be distributed because ESPNEWS is a scrambled satellite signal. ESPNEWS can be found on DirecTV at channel 207 and on Dish Network at channel 142. In addition, some cable systems carry the ESPNEWS signal. Immediately following the ESPNEWS announcement, you may print the bracket off www.ncaasports.com.

The Lady Razorbacks have made eight trips to the NCAA Championships and have 10 post-season appearances in the 13-year history of the program. Arkansas has gone dancing three consecutive years (2003, 2004, 2005) and a fourth would make this the only senior class to have gone all four years. Arkansas went to the NIVC Invitational in 1994 and 1995 when the NCAA Tournament was only 32 teams. The Lady’Backs did not have post-season appearances in 2000 and 2002.

Arkansas reached the round of 16 in 1998 and it is the deepest the Lady’Backs have ventured into the post-season. That year, the Lady’Backs defeated new Hampshire and Indiana in three games in Fayetteville advancing to the NCAA Regional where they lost to No. 8 Hawai’i.

The first two rounds (played Nov. 30-Dec. 3) will be held on campus sites based on seeding, bids and the ability to host the event. The four regional sites are Florida, Hawai’i, Texas and Washington and the semis and finals take place Dec. 14 and Dec. 16 at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb.

This has been a tough year. Arkansas had the program’s longest losing streak (five matches), longest conference losing streak (five matches), tied the season for fewest wins with 16 (unless Arkansas moves on and wins a match in the post-season) and had their first sub-.500 SEC record at 9-11.

The Southeastern Conference announces its first and second team awards later this week. Seniors Amy Allison, Kele Brewer and Denitza Koleva along with juniors Jessica Dorrell and Ashley Miller and sophomore Christina Lawrence have all been recognized throughout their careers by the SEC.