THE FLATS – No. 13 Georgia Tech volleyball (20-7, 13-5 ACC) has been selected as one of four national five seeds in the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship, as announced by the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball committee during the selection show on Sunday.
As one of 32 at-large selections amongst the 64-team field, the Yellow Jackets will head to Milwaukee, Wisc. as No. 4 seed Marquette (27-3, 17-1 Big East) also hosts Ball State (24-8, 15-3 MAC) and Wright State (28-3, 18-0 Horizon League) at the Al McGuire Center.
Making its 12th NCAA tournament appearance in program history, Georgia Tech will begin its tournament run against Wright State in the First Round on Thursday at 5 p.m. The winner of the match will advance to take on the winner of host Marquette and Ball State on Friday at 7 p.m. The victor will move on to regional play on Dec. 8 and 10 at one of four non-predetermined campus sites.
After reaching the second round of the 2020 NCAA tournament two seasons prior, Tech’s first appearance since 2009, the Yellow Jackets advanced to the Elite Eight a season ago to tie the 2003 squad for the best finish in program history. The White and Gold will now make a third straight tournament appearance for the first time since advancing to the Big Dance five consecutive years from 2000-04. The selection also marks the third berth in the Big Dance for the Yellow Jackets under head coach Michelle Collier.
The regional winners in the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship will advance to the national semifinals and championship final hosted Dec. 15 and 17 at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Neb. The national semifinal matches will broadcast on ESPN, and the championship match will broadcast on ESPN2. All preliminary site match times can be found on the attached championship bracket or online at http://www.ncaa.com/volleyball.
SCHEDULE
First round – Thursday, Dec. 1
Second round – Friday, Dec. 2
Regional semifinals – Thursday, Dec. 8
Regional finals – Saturday, Dec. 10
National semifinals – Thursday, Dec. 15 – ESPN
National Championship – Saturday, Dec. 17 – ESPN2
TECH IN THE TOURNAMENT
Georgia Tech’s selection to the 2022 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship marks the 12th appearance in program history. Tech’s first action in the Big Dance came in 1994 after winning the ACC regular season title. The Jackets would advance to the second round of the tournament that season and follow suit for the next pair of seasons. Tech reached the second round of the tournament after winning a second consecutive ACC regular season title as well as the ACC Tournament title in 1995 and placing second in the ACC in 1996. From 1999-2004, Georgia Tech reached five straight NCAA Tournaments, advancing as far as the Elite Eight in 2003 followed by the Sweet 16 in 2004. Over that span, the Jackets claimed three ACC regular season titles and one ACC Tournament title. Tech reached the first round of the tournament in 2009. Most recently, the White and Gold advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2020 and followed with one of the two top finishes in program history, reaching the Elite Eight a season ago.
Competitive Drive Initiative
In a unified endeavor, Georgia Tech, the Georgia Tech Foundation, Georgia Tech athletics and the Alexander-Tharpe Fund have come together to accelerate funding for student-athlete scholarships with the launch of the Competitive Drive Initiative. The initiative kicks off with the Accelerate GT Match Program, where any new gift to the A-T Fund’s Athletic Scholarship Fund made through Dec. 31 will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Georgia Tech Foundation, up to $2.5 million. Should Accelerate GT reach its $2.5 million fundraising goal, the matching gift would result in a $5 million impact for Georgia Tech athletics. To learn more and to contribute online, visit atfund.org/accelerate.
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