Oakland to Face Kentucky in NCAA Volleyball Championship

The Oakland volleyball team (22-9) will make its inaugural appearance in the NCAA Tournament when the Golden Grizzlies take on No. 13 seed Kentucky (26-5) Friday, Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m. ET in the Louisville Regional.

Kentucky's Memorial Coliseum will host the first-ever matchup between Oakland and Kentucky.

Kentucky, ranked 15th in the AVCA Coaches Poll, finished second in the SEC with a 14-3 conference record. The Wildcats are led by Lauren O'Conner's 3.28 kills per set clip, which paces Kentucky's attack that ranks 10th in the NCAA in kills per set (14.3 kps). As a team, the Wildcats are hitting .227 on the year.

The Golden Grizzlies, winners of the Horizon League's tournament and regular season titles, are led by Cassie Pelloni (3.0 kps) andMelissa Deatsch (2.9 kps) on offense and Taylor Humm (4.5 digs per set) on defense.

The winner of Kentucky/Oakland will face the winner of Ohio State (21-11) vs. Lipscomb (21-8) in the second round Saturday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m.

All-session tickets go on sale Monday at 9 a.m. ET and can be purchased at the UK Ticket Office, online at UKathletics.com/tickets or by calling the ticket office at (800) 928-2287 or (859) 257-1818. All-session tickets are $12 for reserved seats at Memorial Coliseum. Adult general admission tickets (19+) are $10, while seniors (65+) and youth (3-18) can purchase all-session tickets for $6. Single-session tickets, which are $8 for reserved seats and $7 for adult general admission seats and $5 for seniors and youth, go on sale Friday at 9 a.m.

(Release courtesy of Sheila Blackman, Oakland Athletics)