Postseason Starts in Maples

STANFORD, Calif. - The Stanford women's volleyball team (24-4) will begin its quest for the program's ninth NCAA title at home this week, as the squad earned the No. 3 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Stanford is scheduled to play its first round match at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 6 at Maples Pavilion against Denver (23-8). The Pioneers won their fifth Summit League title to earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
 
Cal Poly (20-8) and Georgia (20-9) will meet in the other first-round matchup at Maples Pavilion on Friday at 4:30 p.m. The Mustangs finished second in the Big West Conference, while the Bulldogs took fifth in the SEC. Both received at-large berths into the tournament.
 
The winners of the Stanford-Denver match and the Cal Poly-Georgia match will meet in the second round on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 6 p.m.
 
Should the Cardinal advance past the first weekend of play, it will also host the regional rounds on Dec. 13-14 at Maples Pavilion. The seeded teams in Stanford's region are No. 6 Pittsburgh, No. 11 Penn State and No. 14 BYU. The Final Four will be held at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Dec. 19-21.
 
Stanford is making its 39th straight NCAA Tournament appearance and is one of just two teams to have made it to all 39 tournaments. The Cardinal will be seeking a second straight national title and third in four years, its 23rd Final Four trip and 17th appearance in the national title match.
 
Stanford wrapped up the regular season on Friday with a four-set win over Bay Area rival California. Claiming its 19th league title, Stanford went 18-2 in Pac-12 Conference play. Six Pac-12 schools earned bids to the NCAA Tournament,
 
Tickets for the first and second rounds will be available online at www.GoStanford.com or by calling 1-800-STANFORD beginning at 9 a.m. PT on Tuesday, Dec. 3.