Nov. 26, 2006

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - UC Santa Barbara has earned an at-large bid into the 64-team 2006 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament, it was announced today. The Gauchos, who are one of only three teams to participate in all 26 of the NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournaments, will face No. 20 ranked BYU in the first round on Thursday, Nov. 30.

The match between the Gauchos and Cougars is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at USC's Galen Center and will be followed by the showdown between No. 5 seed USC and Mississippi at 7:00 p.m. The winners of Thursday's matches will face-off on Friday at 7 p.m. for the right to advance to the Regional Semifinals, held Dec. 8-9 in Honolulu, Hawai'i.

"I couldn't be happier, especially for our three seniors. It has been a difficult season and our tough schedule paid-off. I am happy with the draw and the opportunity to stay in California and play in front of family and friends. We were lucky to not draw one of the top-seeded teams, but BYU is tough and it will not be easy," said head coach Kathy Gregory.

UCSB finished the regular season with an 19-11 overall record and a third place finish in the Big West Conference after posting an 8-6 league mark. The Gauchos will carry a five match win streak into this week's match and most recently defeated Albany and Western Michigan on November 24 at the Baden Thanksgiving Classic, both matches were won in a 3-1 fashion.

BYU posted an overall record of 24-5 this season and went 13-3 in the Mountain West Conference. Like the Gauchos, BYU is unseeded into the tournament and earned an at-large berth. The Cougars have won their last three matches against UCSB to improve to 6-4 all time, most recently posting a 3-0 sweep in Provo, Utah on Sept. 26, 2001.

With its bid, UCSB continues the tradition of appearing in every NCAA tournament since its inception in 1981. Only two other teams, Penn State and Stanford, share the same distinction. In 2005 the Gauchos fell to host USC in the first round, 3-0. Since 1997, UCSB has made three Elite Eight and two Sweet 16 appearances. The Gauchos have posted an overall 21-25 record in their 25 Big Dance appearances.

Santa Barbara was one of three Big West schools to receive a bid into this year's tournament: conference champion Cal Poly received the fifteenth seed and Long Beach State also was granted a berth.

Ticket information and details regarding live radio broadcasts of the Gauchos' NCAA Tournament matches will be announced shortly.