#BIGEASTvb Set For NCAA Tournament Play
NCAA First and Second Round Notes
NEW YORK - The NCAA Volleyball Championship First Round begins competition on Thursday and Friday as three BIG EAST squads enter the tournament field. Thursday is the first day of NCAA play for St. John's while Creighton and Marquette kick things off on Friday.
St. John's (22-11) is in action first on Thursday with an 7:30 p.m. ET match at 13th-seeded Texas A&M (21-7) in College Station, Texas at Reed Arena. The Red Storm and the Aggies have never met in the history of the two programs. St. John's won six of its last seven regular-season matches to qualify for the BIG EAST Championship. The Red Storm took down then-No. 10 Creighton and then-No. 12 Marquette in consecutive days to claim the BIG EAST title and clinch the automatic qualifier to the 2019 NCAA Volleyball Championship. The Johnnies are making their third NCAA appearance in program history and first since 2007. The Red Storm advanced to the round of 16 in 2007 before falling to USC in the Regional Semifinal in five sets. St. John's is 3-2 in the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies enter the NCAA Tournament with their best conference finish since 2016, where A&M tied for the No. 3 slot. Texas A&M finished 12-1 in matches played at Reed Arena this season, its best home finish since 2000. Texas A&M is making its 25th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Thursday's first round action can be seen on SEC Network .
Marquette (27-5) is in action on Friday with a 4:30 p.m. ET match against Dayton (22-8) in West Lafayette, Ind., at Holloway Gymnasium. Friday's meeting between the Golden Eagles and Flyers will be just the third matchup between the two programs. MU leads the series 2-0 with the last match coming in August of 2015. The Golden Eagles were ranked 16th nationally in the latest AVCA Poll after a runner-up finish in last weekend's BIG EAST Championship. Marquette is making its ninth consecutive appearance and has compiled a 6-8 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament after making the Sweet 16 in 2018 for the first time in program history. Dayton earned the automatic qualifier from the Atlantic 10 Conference after taking down VCU in the A10 Championship. The Flyers are making their 14th NCAA Tournament appearance and are 7-13 all-time. Marquette vs. Dayton can be seen on BTN free of charge.
Creighton will face Iowa State at 5:30 p.m. ET on Friday in Minneapolis, Minn., at Maturi Pavillion. The Bluejays (24-5) claimed their sixth-consecutive BIG EAST regular-season crown in 2019 and are ranked 15th in the latest AVCA Poll. Creighton and Iowa State have split 10 all-time meetings, but CU has won three of the past four. The two programs have split a pair of neutral site meetings. The Bluejays are making their eighth straight appearance and ninth overall in the NCAA Tournament and have amassed a 10-8 all-time record. CU has reached the second round seven of the last eight tournaments and advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2015 and the Elite Eight in 2016. Iowa State is 17-11 this season and in the NCAA Tournament for the 13th time in the past 14 seasons. The Cyclones were 8-8 in the Big 12 Conference and are 6-1 on neutral floors this fall. Creighton vs. Iowa State can be seen on BTN free of charge.
NCAA First & Second Rounds Schedule:
First Round Matchup: St. John's at [13] Texas A&M^
Date & Time: Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: College Station, Texas (Reed Arena)
Second Round Potential Matchup: Winner of Oklahoma/Rice
Date & Time: Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m. ET
First Round Matchup: Marquette vs. Dayton*
Date & Time: Dec. 6 at 4:30 p.m. ET
Location: West, Lafayette, Ind. (Holloway Gymnasium )
Second Round Potential Matchup: Winner of [16] Purdue/Wright State
Date & Time: Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. ET
First Round Matchup: Creighton vs. Iowa State*
Date & Time: Dec. 6 at 5:30 p.m. ET
Location: Minneapolis, Minn. (Maturi Pavillion)
Second Round Potential Matchup: Winner of [7] Minnesota/Fairfield
Date & Time: Dec. 7 at 8 p.m. ET
^Match streamed on SEC Network
*Match streamed on BTN