Oregon volleyball (17-11) will begin its program’s 15th NCAA Tournament appearance and seventh in a row, as they take on Kennesaw State (21-4) in the first round in Provo, Utah, on Friday at 3 p.m. PT.
In head coach Matt Ulmer’s first season at the helm, Ducks finished 17-11 and 10-10 in Pac-12 play, ending the season with a five-set win over Oregon State. If the Ducks are to win on Friday, they will play either BYU or American.
On Sunday evening, the NCAA revealed the bracket for the 2017 NCAA Volleyball Tournament. The top four seeds going into the tournament are No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Stanford and No. 4 Kentucky.
The 64-team tournament will funnel down within the next couple weeks as the championship match will take place on Dec. 16th in Kansas City, Missouri.
Last year the Ducks made it to the Round of 32. After beating Miami, 3-1, they lost against Michigan in the second round, 3-1 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
With top-25 rankings throughout the season, the Ducks hoped for a chance to host the first two rounds of the tournament. They lost their chance to host late in the season as losses piled up. Oregon ended conference play ranked eighth in the Pac-12.
This will be Ulmer’s fourth trip with the Ducks to the tournament, but his first as head coach. In 2014, the team made it to the semifinals during his first year on the coaching staff.
Follow Maggie Vanoni on Twitter @maggie_vanoni
