UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State was announced Sunday as one of the 64 teams in the 2021 NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship during the Selection Show on ESPNU. Russ Rose is the only head coach to lead a team to all 41 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championships since its inception in 1981.
Penn State's path begins in Pittsburgh, where it will take on CAA champion Towson on Friday at 4 p.m. The winner will take on the winner between third-seeded Pittsburgh and American East champion UMBC. The Second Round match will be played in Pittsburgh on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The Nittany Lions, who are ranked No. 15 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll, earned an at-large bid to the tournament after going 20-10 overall and 13-7 in the Big Ten, a conference that had eight teams make the bracket.
Penn State posted seven wins against teams in the 2021 bracket. The Lions played just two matches against teams in their quadrant – Oregon and Purdue.
Towson went 26-4 overall and 12-4 while winning both the CAA regular season and Tournament titles. The Tigers are set to compete in their third-straight NCAA Championship. They opened the 2019 Tournament at Rec Hall, beating American before falling to Penn State in four sets.
Penn State is a perfect 22-0 in the NCAA First Round since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1998, but all 22 of those matches were played at Rec Hall. The Lions received a bye in last season's 48-team field.
The Lions are 1-0 against Towson in the NCAA Championship and 3-0 against Pitt. They've never played UMBC in the tournament.
