Michigan Receives NCAA Berth, Will Face Fairfield
11/28/1999 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The Wolverines (15-14) will face Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion Fairfield (30-3) in the NCAA first round on Friday (Dec. 3) at 5 p.m. PST at the University of the Pacific's Spanos Center in Stockton, Calif. Fifth-ranked Pacific (28-2), the top seed in the East Region, will play Colgate (17-17) in the other first-round match, and the two winners will meet Saturday (Dec. 4) at 7 p.m. PST with a regional berth at stake.
Michigan, under first-year coach Mark Rosen, closed the regular season by winning three of its final four matches -- including wins over NCAA-bound Illinois and Michigan State -- to finish 15-14 overall and 7-13 in the Big Ten. The Wolverines went 8-1 during the non-league portion of their schedule, and they played matches against five teams selected for the NCAA Tournament, with victories over Brigham Young, Arkansas, Virginia and Notre Dame.
The Wolverines will be making their second NCAA Tournament appearance, with the other bid coming in 1997, when Michigan defeated Temple in the first round before falling to Texas A&M in the second round.
The Big Ten placed eight of its 11 teams in the 1999 NCAA field, two more than any other conference. In addition to Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, top-ranked Penn State and Wisconsin give the Big Ten one-eighth of the 64-team field.
Ticket information for the first and second rounds at Stockton, Calif., is available by contacting the Pacific Box Office at 209-946-2UOP.
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Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
