Volleyball not selected for NCAA Tournament

By Mark Rudi
Sports Editor

The Western Michigan University volleyball team’s hopes of receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament have ended.

The Broncos were not selected as one of 64 teams for the 2009 NCAA Volleyball Tournament by the selection committee Sunday afternoon.

Western Michigan ends the season 24-11, but a few key losses to the University at Buffalo and the University of Akron probably cost them a spot in the Big Dance.
WMU also did not have enough signature wins to help its cause as WMU had only two wins over teams in the RPI top 50 (Ohio University, who is 24th in RPI, and the University of Cincinnati, who is 42nd).

However, the Bobcats defeated the Brown and Gold in the Mid-American Conference Tournament title game on Nov. 22 to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The Broncos were 68th in the RPI before its 3-0 win over Valparaiso University Saturday night.

Last season, WMU also lost to Ohio in the MAC title game, but was selected for the 2008 tournament with an at-large bid.

The Broncos would defeat the University of Dayton and No. 16 Tulane University, before bowing out to No. 1 and eventual national champion Penn State University in the Sweet 16.

Ohio is the only MAC team to make the tournament and will face the University of Notre Dame Friday at Cliff Keen Arena in Ann Arbor.

Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=12650

Posted by heraldstaff on Nov 29 2009. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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