Nov. 26, 2006
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NOTRE DAME, Ind.- The University of Notre Dame volleyball team (18-13, 10-4 BIG EAST) has earned an at-large bid into the 2006 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship and will take on 11th ranked Wisconsin (24-6, 16-4 Big Ten) on Friday, Dec. 1 at UW Fieldhouse in Madison, Wis. The Badgers, the host institution, earned the tournament’s 10th seed.
The other schools that were selected to play in Madison are Iowa State (20-10) and Wisconsin-Milwaukee (24-5). The winners of the each of the Madison first round matches advance to the second round that is to be played on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. The second-round winner will advance to the NCAA Regional in Austin, Texas on Dec. 8-9.
Notre Dame will be making its 15th consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament, a distinction shared by just seven other schools: UC Santa Barbara, Florida, Long Beach State, Nebraska, Penn State, USC and Stanford.
The Irish, after a tie for third place during the regular season, advanced to the championship match of the `06 BIG EAST Tournament for the 12th consecutive season. The Irish fell to fellow NCAA Tournament invitee Louisville in five games to finish as the runner-up of the championship
The Irish have a 14-15 record all-time in NCAA play, highlighted by six trips to the round of 16 and a 1993 quarterfinal finish.
Notre Dame attack is led by junior outside hitter Adrianna Stasiuk (Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South). Stasiuk, a co-captain, leads the team with 317 kills while ranking second on the squad with 349 digs.
Ten of Notre Dame’s `06 opponents earned invitations to the tournament Hawai’i (No. 12 seed), Duke, St. John’s, Ohio, Louisville, Arizona State, Alabama, Missouri, Santa Clara and Northern Iowa. Notre Dame went 3-10 against this years NCAA tournament field with wins over St. John’s, Alabama and Duke.
Wisconsin arrives at the NCAA tournament after finishing third in the Big Ten after sweeping No. 22 Purdue on Saturday, Nov. 25. The Badgers will be making its 11th-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. The Badgers are 26-14 in 14 appearances in the championship and have advanced to the NCAA Regional finals (Elite Eight) the last two seasons.
Tickets can be purchased by calling the Wisconsin ticket office at 1-800-GO BADGERS or on line at www.uwbadgers.com.