Lady'Back volleyball dances in Missouri this week

Jump to2005 NCAA Tournament selections FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas was one of six Southeastern Conference teams selected to the 2005 NCAA Volleyball Tournament it was announced Sunday. Arkansas (20-11) travels to Missouri facing St. Mary’s (California) (19-9) in the first round, Friday, Dec. 2. The time is yet to be determined. "When I saw Alabama, Kentucky and Utah State make it," said Arkansas head coach Chris Poole, "I felt like we should get in. It’s still a relief though, to see your name pop up." The Lady’Backs were one of six conference teams selected this year joining Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, LSU and Tennessee in the deepest representation of the SEC in recent memory. "We’ve said all year long that the SEC is as good as it has ever been," said Poole. "It’s a credit to that strength to see six teams get in. It’s great that our credentials held up when the selections were announced." Also in Arkansas’ bracket is host and 10th-seed Missouri (22-4). The Tigers open with Missouri State (24-8) on Friday. The winners of the Arkansas/St. Mary’s match face the winners of Missouri/Missouri State Saturday at the Hearnes Center. "St. Mary’s is a very good defensive team," said Poole. "They have great ball control and dig a lot of well-hit shots. We’ll get some film this week and try and get ready." The Gaels finished the regular season with a 19-9 overall record getting in as one of 33 at large selections. They finished fourth in the West Coast Conference with a 9-5 league record and three wins over top 25 teams this year. Arkansas finished the regular season winning a share of the SEC Western Division title for the 11th time in 12 seasons. The Lady’Backs went into the SEC Tournament defeating Kentucky in the first round and falling in a hard-fought five-game battle to fourth-ranked Florida in a match that could have gone either way. The Lady’Backs have a pair of seniors on the team in Karla Crose and Iva Doecekalova. The duo is taking part in their third NCAA Tournament since joining the Lady’Backs in 2002. Arkansas is making its seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament and it’s ninth in the post-season (NIVC Tournament). "We all joked before the show that we hoped we were one of the first teams announced," said Crose. "It’s hard to wait until the end to hear your named called. We’re excited to get in and can’t wait to get started." In addition to the Lady’Backs, the SEC celebrates the accomplishments of five others who are also in the tournament. Kentucky (17-11) opens with Maryland, while Florida (30-2) hosts Florida Atlantic. Alabama (23-10) faces Ohio, LSU (21-7) meets Texas and Tennessee (21-8) hosts Jacksonville State rounding out the SEC selections.
OMAHA, NEBRASKA REGIONAL
December 2-3 at Nebraska Nebraska (28-1) vs. Alabama A&M (15-11) American (25-9) vs. Duke (23-7)
December 2-3 at UCLA UCLA (18-10) vs. Kansas (15-14) Long Beach State (25-6) vs. San Diego (22-5)
December 2-3 at Louisville Louisville (29-2) vs. Western Kentucky (31-2) Kentucky (17-11) vs. Maryland (27-4)
December 1-2 at Florida Kansas State (20-10) vs. Florida A&M (22-5) Florida Atlantic (29-2) vs. Florida (30-2)
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA REGIONAL
December 2-3 at Stanford Stanford (25-5) vs. Nevada (18-12) Santa Clara (23-4) vs. Sacramento State (26-8)
December 2-3 at Southern California Pepperdine (17-11) vs. Brigham Young (25-3) UC Santa Barbara (21-8) vs. Southern California (16-10)
December 2-3 at Ohio State Ohio State (21-8) vs. Marshall (26-5) Ohio (31-2) vs. Alabama (23-10)
December 2-3 at Utah Utah (22-8) vs. Loyola Marymount (19-10) Utah State (21-12) vs. Arizona (22-5)
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS REGIONAL
December 2-3 at Colorado StateWashington (26-1) vs. Siena (20-11) Colorado (15-12) vs. Colorado State (20-8)
December 2-3 at North Carolina Purdue (23-8) vs. Virginia Commonwealth (22-11) College of Charleston (30-1) vs. North Carolina (23-9)
December 2-3 at Wisconsin Wisconsin (23-6) vs. Loyola (Illinois) (13-17) Valparaiso (27-7) vs. California (18-10)
December 1-2 at Notre Dame Northwestern (19-11) vs. Texas A&M (16-13) Dayton (24-10) vs. Notre Dame (28-3)
STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA REGIONAL
December 2-3 at Texas Hawaii (25-6) vs. Texas State (17-14) Texas (23-4) vs. LSU (21-7)
December 2-3 at Missouri
ARKANSAS (20-11) vs. St. Mary’s (California) (19-9) Missouri State (24-8) vs. Missouri (22-4)
December 2-3 at Tennessee Minnesota (24-7) vs. Winthrop (28-5) Jacksonville State (19-10) vs. Tennessee (21-8)
December 2-3 at Penn State Cornell (19-5) vs. Long Island (25-13) Binghamton (20-11) vs. Penn State (29-2) Teams winning both matches will move on to regional play December 9 and 10. The pre-determined regional sites are Palo Alto, California; Omaha, Nebraska; State College, Pennsylvania; and College Station, Texas. The regional winners will advance to the semifinals and final hosted by University of Texas at San Antonio at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on December 15 and 17.