#BIGEASTvb Minute: BIG EAST Teams Begin NCAA Play Thursday
NEW YORK – The NCAA Volleyball Championship First Rounds will start Thursday and continue Friday with the Second Rounds at campus sites. Two BIG EAST teams, Creighton and Marquette, will begin their quest to Columbus, Ohio where the 2016 NCAA Volleyball final four will be held.
No. 21 Creighton’s first round opponent will be Northern Iowa, which Marquette played in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament. The Golden Eagles won in a five-set match. Creighton swept Northern Iowa earlier this year in Los Angeles on Sept. 2.
Creighton is currently 26-6 overall, dropping just five sets while finishing off the only 18-0 mark in BIG EAST history. Creighton's 20-match win streak is a school-record and has helped the Bluejays remain No. 21 in this week's national rankings. Junior setter and BIG EAST Player of the Year Lydia Dimke (11.37 aps., 2.75 dps., 1.24 kps., .321%) has posted 15 double-doubles in 32 starts. Creighton will be making its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in school history, all in the last seven years. With its fifth straight bid, the Bluejays become the school's first women's squad in any sport to reach five consecutive NCAA Tournaments.
Marquette (23-8) has been led this season by Taylor Louis, who tallied 519 kills (4.44 per set) during the season, placing her 19th in the NCAA. On the defensive end, senior libero Lauren Houg leads the Golden Eagles with 525 digs (4.49 per set) on the season, finishing in second place in the BIG EAST conference. It is Marquette’s sixth consecutive NCAA berth.
NCAA First & Second Rounds Schedule:
First Round Matchup: No. 21 Creighton vs. Northern Iowa
Date & Time: Dec. 1 at 5 p.m. ET
Location: Lawrence, Kansas (Horejsi Family Athletics Center)
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Watch: ESPN3
Second Round Potential Matchup: Winner of #5 seed Kansas/Samford
Date & Time: Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET
First Round Matchup: Marquette vs. No. 25 Washington State
Date & Time: Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. ET
Location: Madison, Wis. (UW Fieldhouse)
Live Stats: GameTracker
Watch: BTN2Go
Second Round Potential Matchup: Winner of #3 seed Wisconsin/Howard
Date & Time: Dec. 2 at 8 p.m. ET