Milwaukee to face Illinois in first round of NCAA Volleyball Tournament

Nov. 30, 2008

2008 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Bracket

MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee volleyball team will face Illinois in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at Huff Hall in Champaign, Ill. First serve is set for 8 p.m. ET.

The Panthers (23-8) will be making their seventh NCAA Tournament appearance and will be facing a Big Ten foe in the postseason for the fourth time.

UWM earned its spot in the NCAA field after winning the Horizon League Tournament last weekend in Cleveland. The Panthers beat UIC in three sets in the quarterfinals before beating Butler and Cleveland State in five-set thrillers. Milwaukee also won the Horizon League regular season crown for a sixth-straight time.

The young Panthers head into the postseason riding an eight-match winning streak. UWM's roster includes just one senior in Becky Peters, while 12 of the 16 players are either freshmen or sophomores. Milwaukee is 2-0 this season against teams that are in the NCAA Tournament, with the Panthers owning wins over Iowa State and Florida A&M.

UWM is also the only team from the state of Wisconsin to be in the field of 64.

Illinois (24-7) finished third in the Big Ten with a 15-5 mark and is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2004. The Illini enter the postseason having won 11 of their last 13 matches and earned the number-nine national seed in the event.

The two teams have met once previously in NCAA play, with Illinois claiming a 3-1 win over Milwaukee in Gainesville, Fla., in 1999. The Panthers and Fighting Illini also met recently in a regular season match, with Illinois claiming a 3-0 win in Champaign in 2006.

Plus, the two sides teamed up for a volleyball clinic at St. Francis de Sales High School on Chicago's far south side this past March, playing a spring exhibition match as part of the event. And, former Panther Melissa David is a volunteer assistant coach for the Illini.

"We are certainly familiar with them having faced them in the spring," UWM head coach Susie Johnson said. "We'll have to play really, really well in the match, but if we stay within ourselves we can give ourselves a chance to win. I have told the team that our strengths all season have been that we play with heart and toughness and we persevere even when we aren't playing our best volleyball. But in the NCAA Tournament you have to combine all of those things with your best volleyball if you want to advance."

Cincinnati (26-6) and Western Kentucky (26-9) will match up in Champaign on Friday at 6 p.m. ET, with the winners squaring off Saturday. The teams are in the University Park Regional, with the weekend winner advancing to the Sweet 16 in University Park, Pa.

Story courtesy of Milwaukee Sports Information Director Kevin O'Connor