The Wisconsin volleyball team will make its 21st NCAA tournament appearance, traveling to Ames, Iowa for the first and second rounds of the 2017 NCAA Championship. The Badgers (20-9) will face Marquette (22-9) in the first round on Friday at 4 p.m. (CT) from Hilton Coliseum.
Wisconsin faced the golden Eagles earlier this season in the HotelRED Invitational at the UW Field House on Sept. 14, downing their in-state rival, 3-1. No. 14-seed Iowa State (21-6) faces Princeton (18-7) in the other first-round match at 7 p.m. on Friday. First-round winners play in the second round on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. for the right to advance to regional play.
The Badgers hold a 41-20 (.672) all-time record in the program’s 20 NCAA tournament appearances, including four-straight showings under head coach Kelly Sheffield. UW is 13-4 under Sheffield in the NCAA tournament, advancing to at least the Sweet 16 round of play each season.
A total of eight Big Ten Conference teams made it into the NCAA tournament, including No. 1-seed Penn State, No. 5-seed Nebraska and No. 7-seed Minnesota.