Nov. 27, 2005

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland volleyball team, co-champion of the Atlantic Coast Conference, learned Sunday it will face the University of Kentucky on Friday evening, Dec. 2 in a first-round match of the 2005 NCAA Volleyball Tournament in Louisville.

The invitation into the 64-team field for the NCAA Tournament is the third straight for Maryland, which has won or shared three straight ACC championships. The Terps and North Carolina ended the regular season atop the ACC standings with identical 18-4 records.

Maryland, 27-4 overall, will face Kentucky, 17-11, in one of two first-round pairings on Dec. 2 hosted by Louisville. The Terps and Wildcats are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.

The Cardinals, seeded ninth overall in the tournament with a 29-2 record, will host Western Kentucky, 31-2, in the other first-round matchup.

First-round winners will play each other on Saturday, Dec. 3 in Louisville for the right to be one of four teams advancing to the regionals, to be played Dec. 9 and 10 in Omaha, Neb.

Duke and North Carolina were the other ACC teams picked in the field. The top four seeds were Nebraska, Penn State, Washington and Arizona. Other regional sites are Palo Alto, Calif., College Station, Texas, and State College, Pa.

Maryland has now been to seven NCAA tournaments in Janice Kruger's 18 years as head coach.