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Alabama A&M Bulldogs to Face Arizona Wildcats in NCAA Volleyball ChampionshipsNovember 27, 2000Indianapolis, Ind. --The Alabama A&M women's volleyball team will face the #4 Arizona Wildcats on November 30, in round one of the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championships held atin the McKale Center on the campus of University of Arizona. The Bulldogs earned the school's first NCAA tournament appearance by winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) automatic bid after walking unscathed through the 2000 SWAC tournament held on the campus of Arkansas-Pine Bluff earlier this month. A&M (31-2) enjoyed an undefeated conference season, winning all eight league matches. The Bulldogs participated in four regular season tournaments, bringing home four tournament trophies, four tournament MVP honors and five other all-tournament performance certificates. Arizona (25-4) earned a share of the Pac-10 conference title after posting a school-best 16-2 league record. The Wildcats were picked to finish fourth in the preseason conference coaches' poll; however, the team led the league wire-to-wire, never relinquishing the top spot. They swept seven conference series and split with UCLA and Southern Cal. Over the course of the two-month title run, the Wildcats won 51 of the 63 conference games they played, outscoring their opponents 911-to-581 during that span. Also slated to play in this Central Region first round are Louisville and Michigan. The Wolverines (18-13) were awarded an at-large berth and will face Conference USA Tournament champion and automatic bid recipient Louisville (26-7) in the first round on Thursday (Nov. 30) at 6 p.m. MST. Michigan will be making its third NCAA appearance since 1997. Louisville will be making its 11th appearance since 1982. Host Arizona, the No. 2 seed in the Central Region, will play Alabama A&M in the other first-round match at 8 p.m. MST. The Wildcats will be making their 16th appearance since 1981. The Bulldogs will be making their first appearance at the national competition. A&M joins four other schools -Georgia State, Missouri, Texas-San Antonio, Utah State- making their national debut. The first round winners will meet Friday, December 1 at 7 p.m. MST for a berth in the regional. For more regarding A&M volleyball, please log on at www.aamu.edu/pr/athletics.html
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