by The NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Committee announced the 64-team field this past Sunday for the 2014 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship. Thirty-two conferences were awarded automatic qualification, and the remaining 32 slots were filled with at-large selections to complete the bracket.
Among these teams selected for the tournament will be three Native American ladies that will participate with their team in hopes of winning the championship that will be played in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on December 18th & 20th. Players Tiana Dockery, Lauren Schad, and Alicia Ostrander will all play a role for their squads:
Tiana Dockery (Navajo), a junior outside hitter for the Kansas Jayhawks, returns to the NCAA tournament for the third straight season. Kansas is hosting the NCAA First and Second Rounds but for the first time, however, it will not be in Lawrence. Due to the Kansas vs. Florida men’s basketball game in Allen Fieldhouse on Dec. 5, KU volleyball is taking up residence at the Kansas Expocentre in Topeka, Kansas. Tiana was named to the Big 12 Honorable Mention team this season as well. Kansas will take on University of Arkansas-Little Rock in the first round on Dec. 5th.
Lauren Schad, (Cheyenne River Sioux), a sopohmore middle hitter for the University of San Diego Toreros, will be play in her second NCAA tournament as San Diego is making its 18th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and fifth consecutive trip. Lauren has 131 kills on the season which is the sixth best on the team this season.. The Toreros will take on No. 15 Long Beach State Dec 5th in a 5:30 p.m. match. The winner of this match will take on the winner of the LIU Brooklyn and No. 17 UCLA match on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Alicia Ostrander, (Oglala Lakota), a junior middle blocker/outside hitter, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers are making their 33rd straight NCAA Tournament appearance. They were selected as the No. 14 overall seed in the 64-team field. Nebraska will open the tournament on Friday, Dec. 5. Ostrander has 149 kills on the season for the Huskers which is the fourth best on the team.
For all the latest information for tickets, results and tv schedule visit the tournament website at http://www.ncaa.com/championships/volleyball-women/d1
