UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Seven-time NCAA national champion Penn State women's volleyball has earned the No. 7 seed in the 2015 NCAA tournament. The Nittany Lions are set to host MEAC conference champion Howard (18-13) Friday, Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. in Rec Hall.
Atlantic 10 champion Dayton (26-5) will take on Big East conference winner Villanova (25-8) Friday, Dec. 4 at 5 p.m. in Rec Hall. The winners of each match will meet in the NCAA second round Saturday, Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m. in Rec Hall.
Penn State enters the postseason with a 26-5 overall record, having finished 15-5 in Big Ten conference play. The Nittany Lions wrapped up the final week of the regular season with a 3-0 win against Northwestern last Wednesday, before falling short in a 3-0 loss on the road at Nebraska in the regular season finale.
The Nittany Lions are poised to make their 35th consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament, as one of just two programs in the country to earn a berth to all 35 NCAA postseason events since its inception in 1981. The back-to-back NCAA national champions hold a 90-27 record in the tournament, having totaled 12 trip to the national semifinals ('93, '94, '97, '98, '99, '07, '08, '09, '10, '12, `13, '14), 10 appearances in the NCAA national title match ('93, '97, '98, '99, '07, '08, '09, '10, '13, '14) and seven national championships ('99, '07, '08, '09, '10, `13, '14).
All-session tickets for the 2015 NCAA tournament first and second rounds at Penn State will go on sale to the general public Monday, Nov. 30, at 10 a.m. Current Penn State women's volleyball season ticket holders and NLC members will have the option to purchase all-session tickets now through account manager, by clicking here. All-session tickets are priced at $12 for adults and $10 for students and youth ages 12 and under. Groups of 20 or more may purchase tickets at a discounted rate of $8.
Fans can purchase tickets by calling 1-800-NITTANY or by visiting the Athletics Ticket Office in the Bryce Jordan Center from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Single-match tickets will only be sold at the door the night of each match. Tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for students and youth ages 12 and under. Doors will open at 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4, and 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5.
Additionally, 400 free all-session tickets will be available for Penn State students on a first come, first served basis, courtesy of the Penn State women's volleyball booster club. Free admission will be granted to the first 400 students entering the match on Friday and Saturday.
Penn State swept past BYU in last year's 2014 NCAA title match to claim the Nittany Lions' sixth NCAA national championship in the last eight years.
In the 64-team field where only the top 16 teams are seeded, Penn State is joined by eight other Big Ten opponents: No. 2 Minnesota, No. 4 Nebraska, No. 6 Wisconsin No. 12 Ohio State, Michigan State, Purdue, Michigan and Illinois.
Including this year, the Nittany Lions have had the opportunity to host the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament 28 times since 1981 and will welcome a pair of first and second round teams to the court in Rec Hall for the 26th consecutive year. Penn State is 29-5 all-time in opening matches of the NCAA tournament, having swept Siena in its most recent first-round outing in 2014. Penn State has not lost a first round contest since 1989, when the Nittany Lions fell to Illinois in straight sets. Since the loss, the Nittany Lions have not surrendered a single set to a first round opponent, having posted sweeps in its last 25 consecutive first-round victories.
The winner of the Penn State first and second round NCAA site will advance to the Des Moines Regional Dec. 11-12 at Wells Fargo Arena. The Penn State site winner will take on the site winner from Texas A&M, which features the No. 10 Aggies, A&M-Corpus Christi, TCU and Hawaii. The other regional semifinal matches will feature the winner of the Louisville, Kentucky, site (No. 15 Louisville, Belmont, Southern Illinois and Illinois) and the winner of the Minnesota site (No. 2 Minnesota, Jackson State, UNI, and Marquette).
The winners from each of the four regional sites (Lexington, Kentucky, Des Moines, Iowa, Austin, Texas, San Diego, California) advance to the NCAA semifinals, which will be held Thursday, Dec. 17, in Omaha, Nebraska, at the CenturyLink Center.