There were some tense moments, but in the end, Utah volleyball got some good news Sunday afternoon.
The Utes made it in to the NCAA tournament with an at-large bid, although it wasn’t revealed on ESPNews until the last pairings.
“Being in the final bracket always makes it exciting,” said a relieved Shelly Sommerfeldt.
Utah will face Long Beach State, a familiar foe in the first round. The Utes fell to Long Beach in four games early in the season, but this time will be in Los Angeles on a neutral court. Ute coach Beth Launiere thinks that could be to the Utes’ advantage.
“Last time we played them it was in their gym,” Launiere said. “They had all their national championship banners and I think we got a little intimidated.”
UCLA, the host school for the first round, is another recent foe. The Utes dispatched the Bruins in five games earlier in the season at Crimson Court.
UCLA, from the PAC 10, lines up with Loyola Marymount, an at-large selection from the West Coast Conference. The winner will meet the victor from the Utah vs. Long Beach tilt.
Sommerfeldt is anxious to get started in a bracket full of familiar schools.
“We already know that we can match up with those teams,” Sommerfeldt said. “It makes it all more the exciting for us.”
Being in the region with teams they’ve already seen and with no high seed, (UCLA is seeded only 15 out of 16 seeded teams) the Utes are confident they can reach their longtime objective.
“The goal is the elite eight,” Sommerfeldt said. “We talked in the spring about where we wanted to go, and I think we can still get there.”
The Long Beach State match is set for Dec. 3. Should Utah advance, the team will face the UCLA vs. Loyola victor on Dec. 4.
The team advancing out of Pauley Pavilion will head to Seattle for the regionals a week later.
Utah was one of two Mountain West Conference teams to reach the tournament. Colorado State hosts the first and second rounds in Fort Collins, Colo., where they will open with a match against Purdue, one of seven teams from the Big Ten. The Big 12 also received seven bids to the tournament.