Volleyball to play Ohio State in NCAA Tournament

MURFREESBORO, Tenn - For the sixth consecutive season and the seventh time in school history the Middle Tennessee volleyball team will be headed to the NCAA Tournament after earning an at-large selection to the Knoxville, Tenn., subregional as announced by the NCAA Sunday evening.

"I had a really good feeling that we would get an at-large bid with some of the wins we had on our schedule this season," head coach Matt Peck said. "I know that some of the girls are happy that we're playing at University of Tennessee. I'm really excited for this weekend. It's our sixth tournament in a row, and that's quite an accomplishment."

The Blue Raiders will be playing Ohio State of the Big Ten Conference, marking the second time MT has gone up against the Buckeyes in postseason play, last matching up in the 2006 season. The two teams are slated to play at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 1 at Thompson-Boling Arena on the campus of the University of Tennessee.

Duke and 14th-seeded Tennessee will be playing in the site's other match.

The winners of each match will play on Friday for the right to advance to the Gainesville, Fla., Regional.

This year marks the second in school history that the Blue Raiders have earned an at-large bid and the first since the 2008 season.

"When I first came into the conference, it was a single bid league," Peck said. "Now we're to the point where we've gotten two teams in each of the past four or five years, and that's really a testament to how much the Sun Belt has improved. Volleyball in this conference has come a long way."

Western Kentucky earned the Sun Belt's automatic bid at last week's Sun Belt Tournament.

More information on the Blue Raiders' trip to the NCAA Tournament will be posted to GoBlueRaiders.com as it becomes available.

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