Nov. 12, 2007

CANYON, Texas - The Lady Buffs are headed to the Cornhusker State this weekend after falling just short on their bid to host the NCAA-II Southwest Regional Tournament for the second straight season. Instead, the event will take place on the campus of Nebraska-Kearney, which jumped West Texas A&M in the regional rankings last week and followed that up by winning the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament to earn the host school bid.

The Lopers of UNK enter the field as the No. 1 seed after capturing victories in their last 17 straight contests to improve their season mark to 31-4; they will face No. 8 seed and fellow RMAC team Mesa State (15-14) in the regional quarterfinal round on Friday, Nov. 16. The second-seeded Lady Buffs highlight the other side of the bracket and will also open play on Friday with a date against a familiar foe in No. 7 seed Midwestern State, also out of the Lone Star Conference.

The Lady Buffs (32-7), who captured their league record 13th LSC title last weekend, swept the Mustangs (27-5) in Wichita Falls, Texas, back on Oct. 25 in the teams' only meeting this season. This season also mark the second straight year that the Lady Buffs will open regional play against a conference opponent as last season WT begin the 2006 Southwest Regional Tournament with a sweep of Abilene Christian.s

A third LSC school, Central Oklahoma, is also in the hunt for the regional title, as the Bronchos are seeded fourth in the tournament and will face No. 5 Fort Lewis. In the other quarterfinal match and first of the day on Friday, No. 3 Colorado Springs will battle No. 6 Metro State.

For West Texas A&M, the postseason appearance is the 18th in school history and third straight under head coach Tony Graystone. Including last season's Southwest Regional Tournament Championship, the Lady Buffs have captured eight NCAA-II regional championships to advance to the Elite Eight.

NCAA-II Southwest Regional Volleyball Tournament

Friday, Nov. 16th
Match #1 - No. 3 Colorado-Colorado Springs (20-11) vs. No. 6 Metro State (15-14), 12:00 p.m.
Match #2 - No. 2 West Texas A&M (32-7) vs. No. 7 Midwestern State (27-5), 2:30 p.m.
Match #3 - No. 4 Central Oklahoma (31-6) vs. No. 5 Fort Lewis (21-7), 5:00 p.m.
Match #4 - No. 1 Nebraska-Kearney (31-4) vs. No. 8 Mesa State (15-13), 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 17th
Match #5 - Winner Match # 1 vs. Winner Match # 2, 5:00 p.m.
Match #6 - Winner Match # 3 vs. Winner Match # 4, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 18th
Match #7 - Southwest Regional Championship, 3:00 p.m.