@CanesVB Earns NCAA Tournament At-Large Bid
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami volleyball team is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh straight year.
The Hurricanes (21-9, 14-6 ACC) earned one of the 64 spots in the 2015 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball field and will be one of four teams participating in the Madison, Wis., portion of the Austin Regional, joining No. 6 Wisconsin, Iowa State and Oregon.
“It’s always a goal at the beginning of the year to do enough work during the season to be recognized by the committee,” Miami head coach Jose “Keno” Gandara said. It’s exciting every year because you have a new group, so it’s great to be headed back to the tournament again.”
Miami, who finished tied for fourth in the ACC, will face Iowa State at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday in their first round match of the 2015 NCAA Tournament. The winner of that match advances to face the winner of Wisconsin and Oregon on Friday.
“It’s been a great group to work with,” Gandara said of the 2015 Hurricanes. “They’re learned how to work hard and work smart. We’ve been able to develop and build the team on a strong foundation and that’s paid off. We have a number of players that help us in different areas of the court and we are excited to continue the season.”
The Hurricanes are part of a 16-team bracket in the Austin Regional that features No. 3 Texas, No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 11 Florida and No. 14 UCLA. Miami has now earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year under Gandara and the eighth time in program history.
The Canes, who are 4-7 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, will face Iowa State (18-10, 11-5 Big XII) in the opening round. Miami is 0-1 all-time against the Cyclones, falling in three sets in the second round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
A year ago, the Canes reached the second round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament, falling to No. 8 Florida in a hard-fought four-set battle. Miami reached the second round for the third time in program history. The Canes earned their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2011 when they beat UCF in five sets on Dec. 5. The win was also the first NCAA Tournament victory in Gandara’s head coaching career.
Miami’s best postseason run came in 2002 and began in Madison, Wisconsin. The Canes swept Duke in the first round and defeated No. 15 Wisconsin in four sets to advance to the Regional Semifinal, where they fell to No. 3 Nebraska.
The Hurricanes’ 21 wins in 2015 ties the most in a regular season under head coach Jose “Keno” Gandara. The Canes also achieved their second consecutive 20-win season under Gandara.
First- and second-round matches will be played at 16 campus sites beginning Thursday, December 3. Teams winning both matches will move on to regional play December 11 and 12. All regional semifinal games will be shown on ESPN3, while regional final games will air on ESPNU.
The regional winners will advance to the semifinals and final hosted by the University of Nebraska at the Century Link Center in Omaha, Nebraska on December 17 and 19. Both national semifinal games as well as the championship game will be broadcast by ESPN2. All regional and championship site game times can be found at www.ncaa.com/wvb.
For all the latest information on Miami Hurricanes volleyball, follow the official Twitter feed, @CanesVB, or “Like Us” on Facebook at facebook.com/UMVolleyball. The program is also on Instagram.
