PULLMAN, Wash. — 24th-ranked Washington State volleyball (22-9, 14-6 Pac-12) gets set for its seventh-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance as it will play UNLV (26-4, 17-1 MW) on Thursday night from Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego, Calif. Thursday’s match will be televised live on ESPN+ beginning at 5 p.m. (PST).
The Cougars, making their 17th overall appearance in the tournament, swept last year’s first round matchup over Northern Colorado and head into this year’s first round matchup having won five of their last six matches to close out the regular season. UNLV will be making its fourth all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament and head into this year’s tourney as the 2022 Mountain West Conference regular-season champions.
Match Info:
>> NCAA Tournament first round vs UNLV (26-4, 17-1 MW) | ESPN +
>> Thursday, Dec. 1 // First serve: 5:00 p.m. (PST)
>> San Diego, Calif. // Jenny Craig Pavilion
>> Live Stats //wsucougars.com/sports/womens-volleyball
>> Listen Live // Pullman Radio KQQQ, 1150 AM (Steve Grubbs pXp)
>> Full match notes (PDF)
Cougar Quick Notes:
>> WSU had four players named all-conference as Magda Jehlarova (first team), Pia Timmer (first team), Laura Jansen (honorable mention), and Katy Ryan (honorable mention) each received postseason accolades from the Pac-12 Monday.
>> Jehlarova is eighth in the nation and the Pac-12 leader with 1.50 blocks/set this season. She is also seventh in the NCAA and second in the Pac-12 with 168 total blocks.
>> Jehlárová (584) passed Claire Martin (577) for second all-time at WSU in career total blocks and including this season, has three of the four highest single-season attack percentages in Cougar volleyball history.
>> Timmer averaged 4.53 kills/set over the final nine matches and tied for the team lead with 37 aces.
>> The Cougs are 14-16 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with five tournament wins under Head Coach Jen Greeny.
>> Thursday’s matchup with UNLV will be the Cougars’ sixth neutral contest of the season with WSU going 4-1 in its first five neutral matches.
>> Washington State has twice reached the NCAA Elite Eight, first in 1996 and again in 2002, its two best finishes all-time in the tournament.
>> WSU is 18-1 on the season when winning the opening set and a perfect 15-0 when winning the first two.
>> Washington State’s 14 conference wins were…
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