Nov. 28, 2004

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara University will face the University of Kansas in the first round of the 2004 NCAA Volleyball Championship, the NCAA Selection Committee announced this afternoon. The Broncos, ranked 25th in the country with an 18-8 record, received an at-large berth and will travel to Seattle for the first and second rounds of the 24th NCAA Championship this Friday and Saturday.

The Broncos will face the Jayhawks at the Bank of America Arena at 5 p.m. on Friday. Washington and Idaho will face each other in the other game at 7:30 p.m. The winners will face each other on Saturday at 7 p.m.

The Broncos will be making their seventh straight NCAA postseason appearance. Santa Clara received an at-large berth into the Tournament after placing third in the West Coast Conference.

Kansas is 18-11 on the season and earned an at-large berth into the tournament. The Bronco program has faced Kansas on one other occasion, a 3-2 season-opening loss at a preseason tournament in 1994. The third-ranked Huskies (24-2) received an automatic berth after winning the Pac-10 Championship, while the Vandals (17-12) were an at-large bid, after placing sixth in the Big West.

Of the 64 teams selected, 20 are from the West and 14 are from the state of California. West Coast Conference opponents San Diego, Saint Mary's and Loyola Marymount were placed in the draw. SCU went 5-8 against the tournament field during the regular season. Nebraska is the tournament's top seed, followed by Penn State, Hawaii, Minnesota, Ohio State, Texas, Washington and USC.

The Big Ten and Big 12 lead all conferences with seven teams in the tournament. Six teams will represent the Big West and the Pac-10; four teams will represent the WCC and the SEC. In the championship, 31 conferences were awarded automatic berths with 33 teams receiving at-large selections.

Regionals will be held December 10-11 at predetermined sites in Louisville, Ky., Minneapolis, Minn., Seattle, Wash., and Green Bay, Wis. The Final Four will be held December 16 and 18 at Long Beach Arena and is hosted by Long Beach State University.