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Broncos get NCAA volleyball tourney bid

Dec. 1, 2008

KALAMAZOO--Western Michigan University's volleyball team learned Sunday it would advance to the NCAA postseason tournament despite losses in two of its final three matches.

The Broncos (26-6 overall) will play the host Dayton Flyers (21-12) at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5. In an earlier match Friday at Dayton, No. 16-ranked Tulane (27-5) plays Ohio Valley Conference Tournament champion Tennessee Tech (19-12). The two winners of the Friday contests will play Saturday night, also in Dayton, Ohio.

There are 16 sites hosting first- and second-round matches. The winners at each site advance to four regional sites that will determine the national final four. The winner of the four-team Dayton site will play in the second-round at University Park, Pa., Dec. 12-13. The second-round host in WMU's bracket, Penn State, is the No. 1-ranked team in the nation.

"We're just so excited right now," WMU junior co-captain Katie Eberling said. "Just watching the selection show and seeing Western Michigan come up on screen was maybe the most exciting thing ever. This shows that all our hard work was worth it, and now it's absolutely a new season. We're all so excited to get back to practice Monday and get ready for Dayton."

WMU won the Mid-American Conference championship with a regular season league record of 14-2. The Broncos fell to Ohio University in the MAC tournament final and one week later made a disappointing showing against Valparaiso, losing 3-0 at home in the regular season finale. Despite the late-season losses, the Broncos captured an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

WMU has advanced to the NCAA tournament 10 times, twice more than any other MAC school. WMU's previous NCAA appearances came in 2000 and eight straight, 1982 through 1989.

The MAC received a league-record three berths in the 2008 NCAA tournament, with Ohio earning an automatic berth for winning the MAC tournament, and Miami University and WMU gaining at-large bids based on their season records and strength of schedules.

Visit wmubroncos.com for more information and to follow the Broncos in the 2008 NCAA Volleyball Tournament.

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Media contact: Matt Holmes, (269) 387-3168, matt.holmes@wmich.edu

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