DePaul (26-7), Louisville (25-6) and Cincinnati (22-7) earn a berth to the 2001 NCAA Volleyball Tournament.

CHICAGO - Three Conference USA teams have advanced to the NCAA Volleyball Tournament. DePaul (26-7) earned C-USA's automatic bid to the NCAAs after capturing the Healthy Choice Conference USA Tournament and takes a five-match winning streak into its first round showdown with Minnesota (17-12) on Nov. 30 at 5:30 p.m. (CST) in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Cincinnati (22-8), C-USA Regular Season Champion, travels up Interstate 71 to Columbus, Ohio for a first round meeting with Xavier (25-5) on Nov. 30 at 4:00 p.m (CST). Louisville (28-6), who finished second at the Healthy Choice C-USA Tournament, will host its second-ever NCAA first and second round on Nov. 30-Dec. 1. The Cardinals will face Georgia Tech (19-8) on Friday at 7:00 p.m. (CST).

The Big 12 led all conferences with eight teams selected. The Big Ten and Pac-10 conferences each placed six teams in the field, followed by the Big West and Mountain West conferences with four. The first and second round matches will be played at 16 different campus sites from Nov. 30-Dec. 2, and the regionals will be held Dec. 6-9 at campus locations yet to be determined. San Diego State will host the national semifinals and finals Dec. 13-15 in San Diego at the Cox Arena.

Louisville will be making its 11th NCAA Tournament appearance and eighth in the last nine years. The Cardinals advanced to the Sweet 16 in 1996 and 1998. Last season, Louisville suffered a 3-1 loss to Michigan in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Cincinnati is making its fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth overall. The Bearcats head to Columbus for the second consecutive year. Last year, the Bearcats lost to No. 20 Notre Dame in the first round of the tournament at St. John Arena in Columbus. Cincinnati, who posted their seventh-consecutive 20-plus win season with a 22-7 record, will face Xavier (25-5) in the first round.

DePaul earned only its second NCAA berth in school history after winning the C-USA Tournament. In 1993, DePaul fell to Florida State, 3-1 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. As the No. 5 seed, DePaul defeated East Carolina (3-0), Houston (3-1), Cincinnati (3-1) and Louisville (3-2) to claim its first ever C-USA Tournament title. It also marked the first time in conference history that a No. 5 seed claimed the title.

This marked the fourth straight year that Conference USA has sent at least three teams to the NCAA Tournament. C-USA has produced 20 NCAA teams in its first seven seasons.
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