As the regular season draws to a close, the Oregon volleyball team can finally breathe easy.
It was announced during the NCAA selection show that the Ducks (16-13) have earned their fifth-straight trip to the NCAA tournament. They received an at-large bid and will face the Wisconsin Badgers (26-4) for the first time in program history at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 3 in Madison, Wisconsin.
The Badgers, who finished third in the Big Ten, are the No. 2 seed in the Austin region. Iowa State and Miami will meet in the other Madison matchup on Thursday, with the winner slated to play the Ducks-Badgers victor.
Texas earned the No.3 overall seed and are the top seed in the Austin region.
Oregon was one of seven PAC-12 teams named to the tournament. USC (30-2) was selected as the No.1 overall seed after finishing 18-2 in conference play and capturing the PAC-12 title. The Trojans picked up wins over 11 different tournament teams during their regular season schedule. Washington (No. 5 seed), Stanford (No. 8), UCLA (No. 14), Arizona and Arizona State all received tournament bids as well.
The Ducks received their tournament bid after a frantic last half of the season. At one point, Oregon was 11-11 and their hopes of playing in the postseason looked all finished. A late hot streak over their last seven matches likely saved their season and earned the Ducks their ninth tournament trip in head coach Jim Moore’s 10-year tenure.