Nov. 25, 2012
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The San Diego State volleyball team gathered Sunday afternoon and learned it has received an at-large invitation to the 2012 NCAA Volleyball Tournament. The Aztecs' first-round opponent will be the St. Mary's Gaels of the West Coast Conference in a match to be played Thursday at USC's Galen Center in Los Angeles.
As a first and second round host, USC will face Fairfield on Thursday as well with the winners of the two matches facing off on Friday for the right to advance to the regional tourney in Austin, Texas.
SDSU finished the season with an overall record of 23-7, the most wins for the program since 1995 when it finished with a 27-5 mark. The Aztecs ended the season by winning their final 12 matches and compiled a 13-3 record in conference play, good enough to earn its first-ever Mountain West championship, which it shared with Colorado State.
Because the Rams held the tiebreaker in head-to-head play between the schools, CSU received the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. As a result, San Diego State was granted an at-large invitation for its superior play throughout the 2012 campaign.
A total of 64 teams will be selected to participate in the NCAA Tournament with 31 of those being conference champions. The remaining 33 teams will be selected on an at-large basis. The tourney gets underway with the first and second rounds to be played at 16 campus sites next weekend.
San Diego State's most recent appearance in the NCAA Tournament came in 2001 when it fell to Long Beach State in the opening round. SDSU's all-time record in the national championship tourney stands at 15-13.