Nov. 29, 2009
2009 NCAA Bracket in pdf format
2009 NCAA Tournament
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 1 and two-time defending national champion Penn State women's volleyball team (32-0, 20-0 Big Ten) earned the No. 1 overall seed in the 2009 NCAA Tournament. The Nittany Lions host America East Champion Binghamton (15-15) on Friday, Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. at Rec Hall. Patriot League Champion Army (26-5) squares off with Ivy League Champion Penn (22-5) at 5 p.m. on Friday. The winners of each of the matches will meet in the NCAA Second Round contest at 7:30 p.m. in Rec Hall on Saturday, Dec. 5.
"We're excited for the 2009 NCAA Tournament," said head coach Russ Rose. "We want to thank the university and the administration for their support and we look forward to beginning preparation for this year's tournament."
Penn State will be making its 29th NCAA Tournament appearance and is one of just two teams in the nation to be selected to every postseason event since its beginning in 1981. In the 64-team field where only the top 16 teams are seeded, the Nittany Lions are joined by No. 5 seed Illinois (24-5), No. 11 seed Minnesota (24-8), No. 13 seed Michigan (24-9), as well as Michigan State (17-15) and Ohio State (24-9) from the Big Ten.
The Nittany Lions have earned the right to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament 23 times since 1981, including the last 20 seasons. Penn State has compiled an overall record of 60-25 in the event, including seven trips to the NCAA Semifinals (1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2007 and 2008) and three National Championships (1999, 2007 and 2008). Penn State is 40-3 in NCAA tournament matches in Rec Hall.
The winner of the Penn State first and second round NCAA site will head to the Gainesville Regional on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 11-12. The Penn State site winner will play the site winner from Gainesville, Fla., which features Miami (Fla.), FIU, College of Charleston and No. 16 seed Florida. The other Regional Semifinal match will feature the Columbus, Ohio (No. 9 seed California, Lipscomb, Cincinnati and Ohio State) site winner and the Los Angeles, Calif. site winner (Georgia, Baylor, LBSU and No. 8 seed UCLA).
The winners from each of the four Regional sites (Gainesville, Fla., Stanford, Calif., Omaha, Neb. and Minneapolis, Minn.) advance to the NCAA National Semifinal, which will be held on Thursday, Dec. 17 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla. with the National Championship match set for Saturday, Dec. 19.
ALL SESSION tickets for the First and Second rounds MUST be purchased at the Bryce Jordan Center Ticket office or by calling 814-865-5555 beginning on Monday, Nov. 30 at 10 a.m.up until Friday, Dec. 4 at Noon. All sessions tickets are $14 for adults and $8 for youth and students with a valid college or university ID. SINGLE SESSION tickets WILL ONLY be available at Rec Hall on Friday and Saturday and are $8 for adults and $5 for youth and students.
Penn State captured its seventh consecutive and 13th overall Big Ten title after completing the Big Ten season with a perfect 20-0 record for the third straight year. The Nittany Lions have now won an NCAA-record 96 consecutive matches, which ranks second among all Division I sports.
For more information on the Penn State women's volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com. The Penn State women's volleyball 2009 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets and The Outlets At Hershey.