WKU volleyball earns at-large bid to NCAAs; will face Cincinnati

Seniors Tiffany Elmore and Emily Teegarden celebrate the announcement of the Lady Toppers’ at-large bid the NCAA tournament at Double Dogs restaurant Sunday afternoon. WKU will play its first game in Champaign, Ill., against the University of Cincinnati on Friday.

Herald Staff

It was announced Sunday that the WKU volleyball team’s season will continue.

The Lady Toppers (27-8) are slated to face Cincinnati (29-5) on Friday in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The game will be played on the campus of the University of Illinois.

The two teams are far from strangers. WKU has already played Cincinnati once this season — a 1-3 loss (25-21, 20-25, 21-25, 24-26) Oct. 19 in Diddle Arena.

The Lady Toppers had to earn an at-large bid to the tournament after Middle Tennessee knocked them off Nov. 20 in the championship round of the Sun Belt Conference tournament.

The Blue Raiders are the only other Sun Belt representative in this year’s field.

Potential second-round opponents for WKU include Illinois (22-8) and Austin Peay (26-7).

Overall No. 1 seed Florida (27-1) headlines WKU’s regional bracket.

The semifinal and final rounds of the tournament will be played Dec. 16-18 in Kansas City.