For the first time in program history the Point Loma volleyball team is heading to the NCAA Championships. The Sea Lions received the No. 7 seed in the eight-team NCAA West Regional and will face No. 2 seeded Western Washington in the first round on Thursday, Dec. 3.
Point Loma (20-9) earned its way into the tournament as an at-large bid after winning 12 of its final 13 matches and finishing tied for second in the PacWest standings with a 14-6 record. Western Washington (23-5) also received an at-large bid after placing second in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
This will be the second meeting of the season between the two teams. The two teams faced off earlier this season at the GNAC/PacWest Crossover Challenge where Western Washington won in three sets.
The rest of the West Region will be comprised of No. 1 seed and tournament host, Alaska Anchorage (26-2), along with No. 3 seed Sonoma State (26-3), No. 4 Cal State San Bernardino (26-5), No. 5 Central Washington (20-7), No. 6 UC San Diego (19-11) and No. 8 Dixie State (19-10).
The winner of the eight-team regional will then head to Tampa, Fla., on Dec. 10-12 to play for the NCAA Championship.
The PLNU volleyball team became the third Sea Lion squad out of four fall teams to earn a trip to the NCAA playoffs by way of the NCAA West Regional.