Bulldogs to face No. 2 Minnesota in NCAA First Round

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University volleyball team will travel to Minneapolis, Minnesota, to take on the No. 2 national seed the University of Minnesota on Friday night (Nov. 30) at 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST) in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Volleyball Championship. It was announced Sunday night during the NCAA Volleyball Selection Show.

Bryant, the Northeast Conference champion, will face the Gophers for the second time in program history. The two teams met in the North Charleston Classic in 2015, with Minnesota picking up a 3-0 victory.

The Black and Gold will be making their first NCAA appearance at the Division I level and their 12th in program history. Bryant qualified for the NCAA Tournament with a sweep of Sacred Heart November 17 in Brooklyn. The Bulldogs are 22-12 on the season with victories over America East champion Stony Brook and members of the Big East, Conference USA and MAC.

Minnesota is one of 16 regional hosts throughout the country. First- and second-round matches will be played Nov. 29 through Dec. 1 at 16 campus sites.  Teams winning both matches will move on to regional play Dec. 7 and 8. Regionals for the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship will be held at four non-predetermined campus sites, which will be announced after play concludes, on Dec. 1. At each site, four teams will compete in single-elimination regional semifinal competition.

The regional winners will advance to the national semifinals and championship final hosted by Minnesota on Dec. 13 and 15 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The national semifinal matches will broadcast on ESPN and the championship match will broadcast on ESPN2.

Tickets for the first and second round matches are available by clicking here.

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