WKU Volleyball earned a seven seed in the NCAA tournament and is set to take on the Marquette Golden Eagles Friday in the first round.

The Hilltoppers will travel to the University of Louisville, the tournament hosts, for the opening weekend of the tournament. 

WKU earned its 18th NCAA tournament appearance on Sunday. The Hilltoppers were the Automatic Qualifier out of Conference USA, defeating the FIU Panthers in a five-set thriller for the championship.

WKU had a challenging schedule in the regular season to reach the NCAA tournament. WKU faced six tournament teams during the season, earning four wins over Wright State, Indiana, UTEP and Loyola Chicago.

The Hilltoppers will face familiar competition. The host team, Louisville, will take on Loyola Chicago in the first round. The Hilltoppers saw all three of the teams in the regular season, sweeping Loyola Chicago. Louisville and Marquette swept WKU during the season.

“We played all three of the other teams. So that makes it a little easier preparation-wise,” Head Coach Travis Hudson said. “Four really good teams, it will definitely be a challenge.”

The first serve is set for 3 pm C.T. on ESPN+.