WSU 16th seed for NCAA volleyball, is host site

Washington State was awarded with the 16th seed and will host first- and second-round games in the 64-team NCAA volleyball tournament.

The Cougars, who finished fourth in the Pac-12 and were 21-9 overall, will play Big Sky Conference champion Northern Arizona (26-8) on Friday at 7 p.m. in Pullman following a 4 p.m. match between Tennessee (25-5) and Mountain West champion Colorado State (23-7). The first-round winners will meet on Saturday.

The Cougars are making their third straight tournament appearance, their first such stretch since 2000-2002. They also have their highest seeding since they were No. 12 in 2002.

The Lumberjacks come into the match with the Cougars on a 13-game win streak, including a victory over Idaho in the Big Sky title match on Saturday.

Pac-12 champion Stanford is seeded No. 1. Washington will travel to Omaha, Nebraska, to face Saint Mary’s on Friday with South Dakota facing No. 9 seed and host Creighton in the other match. Saint Mary’s is one of five West Coast Conference schools in the tournament.

Other Pac-12 schools in the tournament are No. 11 USC, No. 15 Oregon, Utah, Arizona and Colorado.

After the first two round, sites will be determined for the regionals that are Dec. 7-8.