Ncaa Seedings Hold Up Notre Dame Only One To Crash Party; 15 Of Top 16 Teams In Regional Semis

Either the selection committee members are geniuses, or college women’s volleyball is as predictable as forecasting snow in December. After the first weekend of NCAA Tournament matches, all the top teams survived and advanced to the round of 16.

The Pacific-10 and Big 12 conferences make up half the remaining field, each with four teams. Pac-10 powers remaining are Stanford, USC, Washington and Washington State. The Cardinal is a strong favorite to repeat as national champion when the Final Four is played Dec. 18 and 20 at the Spokane Arena.

Texas, Texas A&M, Nebraska and Colorado represent the Big 12. The Big Ten brings Penn State, Ohio State and Wisconsin to the regionals, while Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara represent the Big West Conference.

The Big East still has Notre Dame, Florida represents the Southeastern Conference, and Brigham Young is one of three Western Athletic Conference teams that advanced.

“I thought the bracket was well put together in the first place,” said NCAA volleyball committee chairman Marcia Saneholtz, a senior associate athletic director at Washington State. “We’ve had a couple upsets, but you want a couple of upsets. That’s what makes it exciting.”

The top four regional seeds advanced in three out of the four regions. Only Notre Dame, a No. 5 regional seed, broke through in the Central, beating No. 4 Arkansas 3-1 in a second-round match at Fayetteville, Ark.

In a bigger upset, Arizona, seeded fifth in the Mountain region, lost a first-round match at Boulder, Colo., to No. 12 Oral Roberts, 3-2.

UCLA, the Mountain’s 10th seed, was the only other Pac-10 team to lose. The Bruins fell to No. 2 Santa Barbara 3-2 on the Gauchos’ home court.

“I think the biggest challenge the committee had this year was how to rank Nos. 1 through 3,” said Florida coach Mary Wise, whose Gators play Washington State on Saturday at Madison, Wis.

Penn State, carrying a 31-1 record into the regionals, earned the tournament’s overall top seed, followed by No. 2 Long Beach State (31-1), No. 3 Stanford (29-2) and No. 4 Wisconsin (29-2).

Some critics believe WSU, a third seed in the Central, caught a break by drawing the Badgers’ “weaker” bracket.

Huskies coach Bill Neville, whose team beat Tennessee-Chattanooga and Pacific last weekend, refuses to be dragged into the subject of who goes where.

“I don’t like it when people whine and complain about the bracket,” said Neville. “I have my opinion on it, but I don’t make the decisions. The committee doesn’t call me and ask, ‘Hey Bill, what do you think?’ So my opinions are worth nothing.”

Here are the regional semifinal matchups, with teams’ regional seedings. Region winners advance to the Final Four.

East Regional, Friday and Saturday at State College, Pa.: No. 2 Brigham Young (28-5) vs. No. 3 Texas A&M (26-7); No. 1 Penn State (31-1) vs. No. 4 Ohio State (24-10).

Mountain Regional, Friday and Saturday at Stanford, Calif: No. 2 UCSB (30-4) vs. No. 3 Texas (25-6); No. 1 Stanford (29-2) vs. No. 4 Colorado (22-8).

Pacific Regional, Friday and Saturday at Long Beach, Calif.: No. 2 Nebraska (26-6) vs. No. 3 USC (25-5); No. 1 Long Beach (31-1) vs. No. 4 Washington (20-9).

Central Regional, Saturday and Sunday at Madison, Wis.: No. 2 Florida (32-3) vs. No. 4 Washington State (26-6); No. 1 Wisconsin (29-2) vs. No. 5 Notre Dame (25-8).

Ticket update About 450 ticket packages remain for the Final Four, Dec. 18 and 20 at the Arena. The price is $15. Tickets can be purchased at the Spokane Arena box office, at G&B Select-A-Seat outlets, or by calling 325-SEAT or (800) 325-SEAT.

, DataTimes