Louisville Earns No. 2 Overall Seed and Will Host Samford in NCAA First Round

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The No. 4-ranked University of Louisville was named as the No. 2 overall seed and has drawn Samford in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and will host Samford, Tennessee and Purdue on Friday Dec. 2 and Saturday, Dec. 3 at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.

Tentative times are listed as Tennessee versus Purdue at 4 p.m. ET and Louisville versus Samford at 7 p.m. The winners of the first round will play on Saturday with match time to be determined.

"It is so much of an advantage to play at home, said senior middle blocker Amaya Tillman. "We sell out so quick here and even students have a hard time getting in. There will be 200-300 people just trying to get into L&N arena. Hopefully, we will just take care of business and we can play at the Yum Center if we advance to the Regional."

The NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball committee announced the 64-team field that will compete in the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship. Thirty-two conferences were awarded an automatic qualification, while the remaining 32 positions were filled with at-large selections to complete the bracket.

Texas, Louisville, Wisconsin and Stanford earned the top seeds in this year's tournament. The top four seeds have combined for four national titles in the last six years.

Texas claimed the Big 12 Conference title after posting nearly an unblemished record, finishing with an overall record of 22-1 and 15-1 in conference play. The Longhorns have held the top spot in the RPI in all eight rankings this season.

Louisville earned the Atlantic Coast Conference automatic bid with a record of 26-2 including eight top 25 wins on the season. Wisconsin secured their spot after bringing home their fourth consecutive Big Ten Conference title and finishing the season on an 18-match win streak.

Stanford is currently riding their longest winning streak since 2018, also at 18 games, while winning their 23rd Pac-12 Conference title in program history.

New for this year, the top 32 teams are seeded nationally in pods of four and placed within four regions. Per the established bracketing principles, the top seeds are provided the opportunity

Ticket Information
Single Session Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Nov. 28.
Click here for tickets: https://am.ticketmaster.com/uofl/ncaavb

The Players' Thoughts
Anna DeBeer
(About playing at home in the post-season)
"Just being here in L&N and having the homecourt advantage, each match this year has been sold out. To have the fans behind us and that familiarity of knowing that we play here all the time and that comfortable feeling, I think it is going to be really huge to start of the tournament strong."

Amaya Tillman
(How big is it to be at home?)
"I know I am really excited, especially coming off of our last home game against Pitt. The crowd was so electric and it was so much fun to play in that kind of environment. I know that Card Nation will come out and really represent and make a big impact no matter what."

The Field
Samford Bulldogs
The Samford volleyball team earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament with a 3-0 win over Furman to the Southern Conference Tournament Title. In his seventh season with the Bulldogs, head coach Keylor Chan has led Samford to five SoCon Tournament titles. The Bulldogs finish the regular season with a 19-12 record (11-5 SoCon) and are led by Kenya McQuirter, who was named the SoCon Tournament MVP. The outside hitter has 439 kills, 75 digs, and 41 blocks on the season.

Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee enters the tournament with an at-large bid finishing the regular season 17-13 (11-7 SEC). Led by head coach Eve Rackham Watt in her fifth season, the Volunteers make their second consecutive trip to the NCAA for the first back-to-back tournament appearance since 2011 and 2012. Tennessee is led by 6-1 senior Morgahn Fingall who has 458 kills hitting .300, 38 aces, 217 digs, and 73 blocks on the season. Ranked No. 17 in the NCAA in kills per set (4.36), Fingall was an All-SEC honoree and the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Purdue Boilermakers
Purdue, seeded No. 8 in the Louisville quarter, finished the season 20-10 (11-9 B1G) and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Head Coach Dave Shondell is in his 20th year at the helm and has led Purdue to 17 NCAA Tournament berths. The Boilermakers are led by freshman Eva Hudson who is ranked No. 17 in the NCAA in points (546). The native of Indiana leads the team in kills with 480 through the season and adds 33 aces, 230 digs, and 59 blocks.

University of Louisville Athletics

Louisville Earns No. 2 Overall Seed and Will Host Samford in NCAA First Round

Players Mentioned

Anna DeBeer

Amaya Tillman

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