Cougars earn seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament bid

PULLMAN, Wash. — 25th-ranked Washington State (22-9, 14-6 Pac-12) volleyball was officially selected for an at-large bid into its seventh-consecutive NCAA DI Women’s Volleyball Tournament as revealed on the women’s volleyball selection show Sunday on ESPNU.  The seventh-seeded Cougars will take on UNLV (26-4, 17-1 MW) in the first round on Thursday from Jenny Craig Pavillion in San Diego, Calif., on the campus of first and second round hosts, No. 2 seed San Diego.

Last year’s Cougs reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament after a first-round sweep over Northern Colorado.  Washington State will be making its 17th overall trip to the NCAA Tournament overall after finishing the season third in the final Pac-12 standings, its best conference finish since 2002.   

Head Coach Jen Greeny will be making her 13th trip to the NCAA Tournament with the Cougars having been to three-straight both as a player (’95-’97) and later as an assistant coach (’00-’02).  Greeny was a part of both the 1996 and 2002 teams to reach the NCAA Elite Eight, the best finish for Washington State volleyball in the NCAA Tournament. 

The 25th-ranked Cougars finished the regular season by winning five of their last six matches down the stretch.  The Cougs capped their home schedule with a sweep over 24th-ranked Apple Cup Rival Washington in the season finale this past Friday night. 

Thursday’s first round match against UNLV will be televised live beginning at 5 p.m. (PST).

WSU NCAA Tournament History

*WSU has earned seven consecutive (longest all-time streak at WSU) and 17 total NCAA Tournament bids. 

*Best all-time finish in the NCAA Tournament is the NCAA Elite Eight (1996 & 2002) 

*WSU is 14-16 all-time in the NCAA Tournament 

*WSU is 5-6 in the NCAA Tournament under Head Coach Jen Greeny

    1991     NCAA First Round         No. 8 New Mexico def. No. 19 WSU 3-1, at Albuquerque

    1993     NCAA First Round         No. 21 WSU def. San Diego 3-1, at Pullman, Wash. 

                 NCAA Second Round    No. 4 BYU def. No. 21 WSU 3-0, at Provo 

    1994     NCAA First Round         No. 20 New Mexico def. No. 25 WSU 3-2, at Albuquerque  

    1995     NCAA Second Round    Oral Roberts def. No. 11 WSU 3-0, at Pullman, Wash. 

    1996     NCAA…