Monday, November 27, 2017

Alabama State Lady Hornets draw second-seeded Florida in NCAA opening round

MONTGOMERY, Alabama | For the third time in the last four years, Alabama State will travel to Gainesville (Fla.) for the opening round of the NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament, facing second-seeded Florida.

Alabama State (28-10) and Florida (25-1) met for the first time in 2014, while meeting last season for the second time. The two will be joined by Miami, Fla. (21-5) and College of Charleston (27-5), with play beginning this week.

"We will go out there and leave it all on the court," Alabama State head coach Penny Lucas-White said. "We are excited to say we made it to the Big Dance, and we expect to dance. The young ladies have built a legacy of winning and have fortitude. They are never going to lie down. They have changed the mentality of the program, and they will never back down from their opponent across the net."

Thirty-two conferences were awarded an automatic qualification, while the remaining 32 positions were filled with at-large selections to complete the bracket.

The top 16 teams were seeded nationally and placed within four regions. Penn State earned the top seed, followed by Florida as the two seed and defending national champion Stanford as the third seed. Kentucky rounded out the top four.

Per the established bracketing principles, the top 16 seeded were provided the opportunity to host. Additionally, team pairings were determined by geographic proximity, with the exception that teams from the same conference were not paired during the first- and second-rounds.

The Lady Hornets and Florida will start at 7 pm (est) on Thursday at the Exactech Arena at O'Connell Center in Gainesville.

Follow the Hornets
For complete coverage of Alabama State University volleyball, please follow the Hornets on social media @BamaStateVB (Twitter), /BamaStateSports (Facebook) and @BamaStateSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Alabama State athletics at BamaStateSports.com.

ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

No comments: