Nov. 26, 2001
WACO, Texas - Prayers were answered for Baylor's women's volleyball team Monday as the Bears received a bid to the NCAA Tournament. This will be just the second appearance for the Bears in the NCAAs, the 1999 team advanced to the second round.
Baylor, 18-11 on the season, faces 15th-seeded Colorado State in the first round Friday at 9 p.m. CT. The Rams also host Big 12 member Colorado for a first-round match against Patriot League champion American University at 7 p.m. Friday. First-round winners face off Saturday at 8 p.m. CT. All matches will be played at Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colo.
Colorado State is ranked ninth nationally in the AVCA/USA Today Coaches Poll at 27-3 on the season. Colorado, who finished fourth in the Big 12, is 18-10, American is 26-3.
Following a five-game victory over Missouri in last Saturday's regular-season finale, Baylor head coach Brian Hosfeld admitted that Baylor's chances of receiving a bid were slim.
"There's a hope and a prayer," Hosfeld said after the Missouri match. "But we're not really counting on it."
Two days later, Hosfeld and the Bears are counting on it.
"Our goal all season has been to get into the tournament," Hosfeld said. "There were points in this season where we did not play up to our ability, but you have to give this team a lot of credit for battling down the stretch. After losing at Texas Tech last week, we could have laid down against Missouri, but the girls didn't do that."
The Big 12 Conference, considered one of the top volleyball conferences in the nation, received eight bids. Conference champion and defending national champion Nebraska will be the No. 2 seed, while Big 12 runner-up Texas A&M will be the No. 11 seed. Kansas State, Missouri, Texas Tech and Texas also received bids.
This marks only the second time in NCAA Tournament history that eight teams from one conference have been selected. The Big 12, now in its sixth year of existence, had received six bids in each of the prior five seasons.
"Our goals do not stop with getting in the tournament," Hosfeld said. "This is a brand new season. Colorado State is a very good team, and this will be a challenge for us. But the reason we're in the tournament is because the NCAA thinks we're a good team. It will be our goal to prove the selection committee right."
Tickets will be sold through the Colorado State ticket office. All-session passes are $14 for reserved seating, $12 for adult general admission and $6 for youth and students. Individual session tickets will not go on sale until one hour prior to Friday's first match, single-session tickets will be $10 for reserved seating, $8 for adults and $5 for youth and students. Parking for each session will be $5. For more information, call (970) 491-RAMS.
Baylor advanced to the second round of the 1999 NCAA Tournament. The Bears defeated Temple 3-1 in the first round before falling to eventual national champion Penn State in the second round.
