Cincinnati and Louisville earned berths to the 2003 NCAA Volleyball Tournament, as announced Sunday night. The Bearcats (27-5), who claimed a share of the 2003 Conference USA regular season title with Louisville, will meet UCF on Thursday, Dec. 4 at 5 p.m. (EST) in Gainesville, Fla. The Cardinals (24-5), who earned C-USA's automatic bid to the NCAA’s after capturing the 2003 C-USA Tournament, take on Notre Dame in a first round showdown on Friday at 6 p.m., in Champaign, Illinois.


The Big Ten led all conferences with seven teams selected. Four conferences landed six teams including the Big 12, Big West, Pacific-10 and West Coast. Four teams Pacific (California), Penn State, Stanford and UC Santa Barbara have earned bids to all 23 championships. Ten teams are making their initial appearances in the tournament: Dayton, Kansas, Murray State, New Mexico State, Nicholls State, Ohio, St. Mary's (California), San Francisco, Valparaiso and Wisconsin-Green Bay.
The first and second round matches will be played at 16 different campus sites from Dec 4-6, and the regionals will be held Dec. 12-13. For the first time, there are pre-determined regional sites (Gainesville, Florida; Lincoln, Nebraska; Long Beach, California and Honolulu, Hawaii). The regional winners will advance to the semifinals and final hosted by the Big 12 Conference and the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau at Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas on Dec. 18 and 20.

Cincinnati is making its fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and sixth overall. The Bearcats, who posted their ninth-consecutive 20-plus win season with a 27-5 record, battle UCF (22-6), the winner of the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament. The winner moves on to take on either third-seeded Florida (31-1) or Georgia Southern (27-9) on Friday night.

Louisville will be making its 14th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Cardinals advanced to the Sweet 16 in 1996 and 1998. With a win on Friday, U of L will face 15th-seeded Illinois (24-6) or Murray State (24-5) on Saturday at 8 p.m.

For the last six seasons, Conference USA has had at least two teams in the NCAA Tournament. C-USA has produced 25 NCAA teams in its first nine years.




2003 First Round NCAA Tournament Matchups
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA REGIONAL
December 5-6 at Southern California
Cal State Northridge (16-12) vs. Loyola Marymount (25-6)
Southern California (29-0) vs. New Hampshire (23-11)
December 5-6 at Texas A&M
Arizona (17-14) vs. Wisconsin (21-10)
Nicholls State (18-14) vs. Texas A&M (21-9)
December 5-6 at Michigan State
Nebraska (26-4) vs. Valparaiso (27-7)
Dayton (25-9) vs. Michigan State (19-11)
December 5-6 at UCLA
Missouri (18-10) vs. UC Irvine (23-9)
San Diego (17-12) vs. UCLA (21-8)
LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA REGIONAL
December 4-5 at Stanford
Pacific (California) (17-13) vs. San Francisco (23-7)
Stanford (23-6) vs. Sacramento State (23-11)
December 5-6 at Washington
Santa Clara (20-10) vs. Utah (20-8)
Northwestern (18-14) vs. Washington (19-8)
December 5-6 at Minnesota
UC Santa Barbara (19-8) vs. Northern Iowa (27-5)
Minnesota (22-10) vs. Wisconsin-Green Bay (23-10)
December 4-5 at Pepperdine
Kansas (21-10) vs. Long Beach State (19-10)
Manhattan (21-13) vs. Pepperdine (25-2)
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA REGIONAL
December 4-5 at Florida
Cincinnati (27-5) vs. UCF (22-6)
Florida (31-1) vs. Georgia Southern (27-9)
December 5-6 at Maryland
George Mason (16-14) vs. Colorado State (28-4)
Maryland (26-7) vs. American (22-9)
December 5-6 at Penn State
Pittsburgh (25-5) vs. Pennsylvania (20-6)
Penn State (28-4) vs. Robert Morris (23-11)
December 5-6 at Kansas State
Southwest Missouri State (27-5) vs. Arkansas (26-6)
Ohio (28-4) vs. Kansas State (28-4)

HONOLULU, HAWAII REGIONAL
December 4-5 at Georgia Tech
Winthrop (24-12) vs. Florida A&M (26-3)
Georgia Tech (31-3) vs. Alabama A&M (23-5)
December 5-6 at California
Colorado (21-9) vs. Michigan (20-11)
St. Mary's (California) (20-12) vs. California (23-6)
December 5-6 at Illinois
Notre Dame (23-6) vs. Louisville (24-5)
Illinois (24-6) vs. Murray State (24-5)
December 4-5 at Hawaii
New Mexico State (30-4) vs. Brigham Young (22-8)
Idaho (19-10) vs. Hawaii (32-1)