BYU, Utah State, Weber State are in the NCAA volleyball tournament. Here's their draw
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
PROVO — Three teams from the state of Utah are in the 64-team field of the 2023 NCAA women's volleyball tournament, including No. 4 BYU, which will host the first two rounds of the tournament for the second time in three years.
Names (and conferences) change, but the Cougars hosting early-round games in the Smith Fieldhouse is becoming something of a rite of passage.
Three teams from the state of Utah are in the 64-team field, including the Cougars, ranked No. 16 nationally in the final AVCA coaches poll of the regular season, drew a No. 4 seed and will face Big Sky Tournament champion Weber State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, the selection committee announced Sunday on ESPN.
"We're thrilled to be hosting and to be able to play at home," BYU coach Heather Olmstead said. "Our team put together a great season and played great matches. I think we did what we needed to do to have the opportunity to host, so we're grateful for that. ... I'm excited for our seniors to be able to host these matches and our team in general."
The top-four seeds were Nebraska, Stanford, Wisconsin and Pittsburgh. The SEC placed the most teams in the bracket with eight, followed closely by seven from the Big 12, including defending national champion and second-seeded Texas.
This year marks the 12th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance for BYU and 36th overall, having hosted at least the first and second round every year but one in Olmstead's nine seasons.
Led by returning All-American outside hitter Erin Livingston (4.25 kills per set) and senior Whitney McEwan-Llarenas (2.08 kills, 1.16 blocks per set) and powered by record-setting setter Whitney Bower (9.06 assists per set) in its first season in the Big 12, BYU ran its record to 24-6 — the program's 12th-straight year with at least 20 wins against a traditional calendar (the Cougars finished 17-2 in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season).
The team also finished third in the conference with a 13-5 mark that was the most conference losses since 2011. But that may simply speak to the depth of the league.
After the Cougar' 3-1 loss to then-No. 17 Kansas in the regular-season home finale , BYU rallied with a pair of road sweeps over West Virginia and TCU. That led to the team's Selection Sunday, when the Jayhawks — now ranked No. 15 nationally — edged ahead of the Cougars in the national poll, and likely clinched its own top-four seed.
The Cougars will host the Wildcats on Friday in a four-team subregional that also includes fifth-seeded Arizona State and Georgia.
Led by West Valley City native and member of BYU's 2001 national championship team Jeremiah Larsen, Weber State (21-9) rallied for a five-set win over Montana State in the championship match of last week's Big Sky Tournament in Greeley, Colorado to clinch its third NCAA Tournament berth in program history.
The three-time Big Sky Tournament champions are led by outside hitter Dani Richins (3.52 kills per set) and setter Kate Standifird (10.02 assists per set).
"We didn't play them this year in preseason, but we're familiar with their players, their coaching and their style of play, so I think that'll be a great first-round matchup," Olmstead said. "We're also excited to host the other match in Arizona State and Georgia. I think it'll be a great weekend of volleyball. We hope the community and Cougar Nation can come out and support."
The Cougars and Wildcats were joined in the bracket by Utah State, which earned an at-large berth after a historic regular season ended in upset madness in the first round of the Mountain West Tournament.
The Aggies earned a No. 6 seed and will face Minnesota (16-12) in the first round Friday at 3 p.m. MST in Omaha, Nebraska. The winner will face the winner of No. 3-seeded Creighton and Colgate in Sunday's second round.
The regular-season champion Aggies (24-6) had their 14-match winning streak snapped by Fresno State in the league semifinals in Las Vegas, their first loss since September, before advancing to their fifth NCAA Tournament in program history and second-straight.
Utah State leads the all-time series with Minnesota, 4-2 but the two teams haven't met since 2007.
Utah State is led by fourth-year head coach and Mountain West coach of the year Rob Neilson, a two-year starting setter at BYU who also played on the 2004 national championship team before coaching in Provo from 2007-15. The Aggies won the most conference games in program history at 17-1 and ranked in the top 20 of the nationally in RPI for much of the season — including a No. 16 rating in the final RPI release on Nov. 20 and receiving votes six times in the AVCA coaches' poll.
Led by seven seniors and freshman libero Kambree Rodriguez from Syracuse, Utah State led the conference in assists per set (13.20), kills per set (14.12) and aces per set (1.87) and were second in opponent hitting percentage (.198). Four players earned All-Mountain West honors, including senior outside hitters Shelby Capllonch and Tatum Stall and junior opposite Adna Mehmedovic.
"This is the deepest and most athletic team that we've had," Neilson told the Mountain West Network in Las Vegas. "We like to say we're a meritocracy; we're going to compete every day in practice, and the best players are going to play. It's not just our players having to earn it every day in competition, but in practice every day. They can't take a day off or a rep off because they've got someone else that is really talented nipping at their heels."
NCAA Tournament first- and second-round matches are scheduled Nov. 30-Dec. 2 at host sites, followed by regionals Dec. 7-9. The national semifinals are scheduled for Dec. 14 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, with the championship match airing Dec. 17 on ABC.
All matches will air on ESPN+ and the ESPN family of networks.
×Most recent BYU Sports stories
Sean Walker
KSL.com BYU and college sports reporter
