Volleyball starts NCAA tournament at home vs. Wichita State

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Mustangs Open NCAA Tournament Against Wichita State

DALLAS (SMU) ΓÇô The SMU volleyball team was selected as a No. 2 seed for the 2024 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship on Sunday night and will host the first and second rounds for the first time in program history at Moody Coliseum this Thursday and Friday.

The Mustangs, making their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth in program history, will open the tournament on Thursday, Dec. 5, at 7 p.m. against Wichita State (18-13), champions of the American Conference (AAC). The 4:00 p.m. match will feature Missouri (20-8) of the Southeastern Conference and Texas State (22-8) of the Sun Belt Conference. Friday's winners will meet in the second round on Friday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m.

Tickets to the first and second-round matches in Dallas are on sale now at https://tinyurl.com/28pnm4z8. The first and second-round matches will be streamed on ESPN+.

SMU received a No. 2 seed in the tournament for the first time in program history, the program's highest seed. The Mustangs are the second seed of the Upper Left Regional behind the No. 1 overall seed Pitt. SMU is the only team to beat the Panthers this season, doing so at Moody Coliseum on Oct. 12. The national seeds in the same region as SMU are No. 1 Pittsburgh, No. 9 Kentucky, and No. 16 Oregon.

The Mustangs will be playing Wichita State for the 18th time. The programs split their two meetings last season in the regular season as both teams were members of the AAC. The Shockers are making their 12th NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the American Championship as the No. 4 seed. After finishing 10-6 in AAC play, Wichita State beat No. 5 seed Tulsa (3-0), upset No. 1 South Florida (3-0), and downed No. 6 Florida Atlantic to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017.

This season, the Mustangs (24-7) finished fourth in their inaugural ACC with a 16-4 record in conference play. SMU is looking to win their third opening-round matchup of the NCAA Tournament and advance past the second round for the first time in the team's history. The Mustangs have three previous tournament appearances, posting a 2-3 record overall. SMU has won their last two first-round matchups in 2016 and 2023.

NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST AND SECOND-ROUND SCHEDULE
First Round ΓÇô Thursday, Dec. 5
4 p.m. ΓÇô Missouri vs. Texas State (ESPN+)
7 p.m.* ΓÇô SMU vs. Wichita State (ESPN+)

*or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the 4:00 p.m. match, but no sooner than 7 p.m.

Second Round ΓÇô Friday, Dec. 6
7 p.m. ΓÇô First Round Winners (ESPN+)

[EastStang]

Did Wichita State give us fits in Volleyball last year?

[Terry Webster]

Did Wichita State give us fits in Volleyball last year?

Yes but their best player is now a Mustang.

[Charleston Pony]

1st set goes to SMU

[indianmustang]

leading 7-5 in 2nd set
https://www.ncaa.com/game/6343854

[Charleston Pony]

Set 2 goes to SMU

[Charleston Pony]

Sweep is complete. Missouri up next

[fan]

Sweep is complete. Missouri up next

When do we play next- assuming we play at Missouri?

[Charleston Pony]

Sweep is complete. Missouri up next

When do we play next- assuming we play at Missouri?

Missou beat Texas State so we play them tonight at 7 central time on ESPN+

[EastStang]

No Missouri game is in Dallas. It's beat Tigers weekend.

[Charleston Pony]

Lookind pretty grim as Missouri has taken the 1st two sets and up 4-0 to start the 3rd set. Would need an epic comeback to win this match tonight

[Charleston Pony]

Ponies just will not quit. They win 3rd set 33-31 and stay alive

[Charleston Pony]

SMU up 15-14 in 4th set but too many service errors for the Mustangs vs too many aces for Missouri tonight. We had them down 24-22 in 2nd set before Missouri served 2 aces to get that set back to even. Ponies still battling and just won't quit

[Charleston Pony]

Backs to the wall now SMU down 22-20

[Charleston Pony]

Missouri wins and advances to the Sweet 16. Tough loss on our home court but a good season with some memorable wins. Hopefully this program can become regulars in the NCAA Tourney. If you have ESPN+ or live in Dallas you should come out and watch this team. Very entertaining volleyball and this was a back and forth night with no really big runs. Hard fought match.