The Radford volleyball team is headed to Wichita, Kansas to face 16th-seeded Wichita State in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
The Highlanders’ name was called Sunday evening in the NCAA Volleyball Selection Special, which aired on ESPNU.
The NCAA Volleyball Tournament begins Thursday, with first and second round matches ending Saturday, Dec. 2. The first and second round will be hosted on the campus of Wichita State, a member of the American Athletic Conference. Radford will join host Wichita State, Kansas and Missouri in the quadrant.
“Wichita State is a great team,” Marci Jenkins said. “I had a chance to watch them a little earlier in the year when we were scouting other teams. They play fast, they set their middles every chance they get. Their middles are up in transition a lot. We’re going to have our hands full. We have to make sure we play well and that our serve pass game is great.”
Winners of 12 of their last 13 matches, the Highlanders (25-4) begin their run to the championship at 9 p.m. Friday. The match, along with all other tournament matches, can be seen on ESPN3 and via the WatchESPN app.
The winner of the Radford/Wichita State match will play the winner of Kansas/Missouri at 8 p.m. Saturday in second round action.
“It’s going to great to be in that environment and to play a team of that caliber,” Jenkins added. We’ll work here over the next couple of days and get prepared to be able to go out there and play.”
The Big South Tournament champions are one of 32 automatic qualifying teams and will compete in their second NCAA Tournament in the last five years. In their last trip to the big dance, the Highlanders faced off against Minnesota in the opening round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
Wichita State (28-3) won the American Athletic Conference in their first year as a member. The Shockers went a perfect 20-0 in the American and have won 27 straight sets.
–RU Athletics
