Lady Toppers earn No. 15 seed, will host first two rounds of NCAA Tournament

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The WKU volleyball team awaits to hear who they will face in the NCAA tournament during a watch party at Roosters on December 1, 2019. WKU will play Kennesaw State on Thursday and host the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.

Drake Kizer
December 2, 2019

For the first time in program history, the WKU volleyball team (31-1) will host the NCAA Tournament First and Second Rounds.

WKU’s impressive résumé, which includes an active 27-game winning streak, earned the program the No. 15 seed in the 64-team NCAA Tournament field, and the Lady Toppers will now welcome Kennesaw State, Louisville and Samford to the Hill this Thursday and Friday.

No. 19 WKU will face Kennesaw State on Thursday following the First Round matchup between Louisville and Samford. Thursday’s winners will face off in Diddle Arena on Friday night for a spot in the Sweet 16.

The Herald is hiring for Spring 2024.

Samford and Louisville will square off at 5 p.m. on Thursday, while No. 19 WKU and Kennesaw State will get started at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

The winners of those two contests will meet at 7 p.m. on Friday.

The 19th-ranked Lady Toppers locked up the program’s 10th automatic — and 12th overall — bid to the NCAA Tournament by claiming both the Conference USA regular season and tournament championships.

Kennesaw State (22-8) earned the Atlantic Sun Conference’s automatic bid and Samford (24-5) earned the Southern Conference’s automatic bid.

Louisville (19-9) — the only team WKU has lost to in 2019 — earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament field, meaning the Lady Toppers could have a chance to avenge the only blemish on an otherwise perfect season.

Sports Editor Drake Kizer can be reached at [email protected]. Follow Drake on Twitter at @drakekizer_.