SAN MATEO, Calif. – The West Coast Conference earned four bids in the 2022 NCAA Volleyball Tournament as announced Sunday by the national office. WCC Champion and second-ranked San Diego earned the automatic qualifier and a No. 2 seed, while 18th-ranked BYU earned a No. 7 seed. Pepperdine and LMU also heard their names called.
The four berths are the most by the Conference since five WCC teams competed in the 2018 NCAA Tournament. The WCC has garnered at least two teams in the national tournament every year going back to 2011. The WCC now owns 101 berths all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Conference has appeared in the Final Four three times, most recently represented by BYU in 2018.
USD is a No. 2 seed in the Stanford regional and will host Northern Colorado in the first round on Thursday. The Waves are also in the Stanford regional and will play the top-seeded Cardinal on Friday. The Cougars enter the tournament as a No. 7 seed and will play James Madison in the first round in the Wisconsin regional on Friday. LMU will compete in the Louisville regional and face No. 3 seed Oregon in Eugene on Friday.
San Diego is ranked No. 2 in the AVCA national ranking for the second time in program history. USD went unbeaten in WCC matches for the second time in program history (2004). The Toreros will compete in the NCAA Tournament for the 13th straight season, 26th overall. They set a program record with 24 consecutive wins, and counting, along with a streak of 13 straight sweeps. The unbeaten streak began on Sept. 3 with a sweep over then-No. 8 Ohio State. USD has faced six ranked teams this season, with a record of 5-1 in those contests.
BYU returns to the NCAA Tournament, continuing a streak of playing in the national tournament every year the Cougars have been in the WCC going back to 2012. The Cougars enjoyed a nine-match winning streak earlier this season, and later boasted an eight-match win streak with six sweeps during that span. Strong in multiple national rankings, BYU leads the WCC and ranks fourth nationally in team hitting percentage (.302) and No. 19 in kills per set (14.03).
LMU is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018. Not shying away from strong competition, LMU began the season facing three ranked teams, including No. 2 Nebraska and No. 22 Utah on the road, and No. 23 Kansas in a neutral-site match. the Lions later swept UCLA when the Bruins were ranked No. 22 in the nation. Following a narrow 3-2 loss to then-No. 4 San Diego on Sept. 24, the Lions won 12 of their next 13 matches, and the Lions won four of their last six matches to close out the regular season.
Pepperdine will be making its third-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Waves boast two Elite Eight apperances in program history (2002 and 2011). Similar to LMU, Pepperdine battled tough non-conference competition, including facing then-No. 1 Nebraska on the road. The Waves also earned two wins over top-10 ranked teams in No. 6 Minnesota and No. 9 Baylor earlier this season. Boasting strong depth, the Waves had a different kill leader in five of the first six matches this season.