Kourtney Edwards and TCU will make their NCAA tournament debut on Thursday

The wait is almost over, as the 2009 NCAA Championship will get underway on Thursday, with eight first-round matches - those being hosted by Texas, Illinois, Florida and Colorado State - scheduled to take place. On Friday, we'll have the second-round contests at each of those four sites, plus 22 first-round matches. Saturday will feature 11 more second-round matches, plus the two first-round clashes at Florida State. The second-round match at FSU will be the lone contest on Sunday.

The best way to follow the entire tournament is via NCAA.com's interactive bracket, which features the latest official matchup information, as well as live scoring of every match, video and audio links, pre-game statistical comparisons and individual leaders, and tournament statistical leaders.

Another cool thing to check out is the NCAA.com Bracket Challenge game, where you can view matchup information and make your predictions on who will win every match. You can even create a group and invite your friends to compete against you. You must fill out your bracket before the first tournament match - Florida International vs. Miami (Fla.) at 5 p.m. ET - begins.

Now let's take a look at Thursday's matches:

FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL VS. MIAMI (Fla.)
Gainesville, Florida - 5 p.m. ET
FIU Basics: 31-3, 17-0 Sun Belt (1st, East Division), 15th in RPI, listed in tie for 35th in AVCA poll, 24-1 in last 25, 8-1 at neutral sites, 20-2 away from home, 1-2 all-time in NCAAs (2nd appearance in a row; 3rd overall)
Miami Basics: 18-12, 11-9 ACC (T-5th), 47th in RPI, 6-4 in last 10, 2-1 at neutral sites, 8-6 away from home, 2-1 all-time in NCAAs (1st appearance since 2002; 2nd overall
Notes: FIU senior outside hittger Yarimar Rosa, the national leader in kills in 2008 (5.12), was the Sun Belt Player of the Year in both 2008 and '09. FIU has one of the top offenses in the nation, ranking ninth in kills (14.65), 12th in assists (13.54) and 22nd in hitting percentage (.262), while Natalia Valentin ranks sixth individually in assists (11.96). Only Penn State has won more matches than FIU This season. You can read a feature on Miami senior libero Cassie Loessberg here. Previous 2009 Meeting: FIU won 26-24, 26-24, 25-17 on Sept. 10 at FIU; FIU hit .303; FIU's Yarimar Rosa had 17 kills and Chanel Araujo had 18 digs; no Miami player had more than eight kills

RICE VS. TCU
Austin, Texas - 5:30 p.m. ET
Rice Basics: 23-8, 11-5 C-USA (4th), Conference USA tournament champion, 39th in RPI, listed 41st in AVCA poll, won nine in a row, 2-0 at neutral sites, 11-3 away from home, 0-2 all-time in NCAAs (2nd appearance in a row; 3rd overall)
TCU Basics: 26-6, 13-3 MWC (2nd), 43rd in RPI, listed in tie for 37th in AVCA poll, 11-1 in last 12, 6-0 at neutral sites, 15-4 away from home, first appearance in NCAAs
Notes: Rice outside hitter Jessie Boulavsky is a first-team Academic All-American (one of just four in the tournament), having posted a 4.00 GPA in psychology and pre-med. Rice ranks third in Division I in assists (13.95) and kills (14.93), as well as sixth in digs (18.11). Neither team has ever won an NCAA tournament match.

DAYTON VS. MILWAUKEE
Champaign, Illinois - 5:30 p.m. ET
Dayton Basics: 29-3, 14-1 A-10 (T-1st), Atlantic 10 tournament champion, 23rd in RPI, 23rd in AVCA poll, won 9 in a row and 19 of last 20, 5-1 at neutral sites, 15-3 away from home, 2-5 all-time in NCAAs (3rd appearance in a row; 6th overall)
Milwaukee Basics: 16-14, 10-6 Horizon League (T-3rd), Horizon League tournament champion, 139th in RPI, won 11 in a row, 3-2 at neutral sites, 8-10 away from home, 0-7 all-time in NCAAs (2nd appearance in a row; 8th overall)
Notes: Dayton middle blocker Lindsay Fletemier, the Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Year, ranks eighth in the nation in hitting percentage (.405). Milwaukee libero Lauren Felsing is a two-time Academic All-American (2nd team in '08, 3rd team in '09). Milwaukee lost on Oct. 11 to fall to 5-14, but has not lost since.

TEXAS STATE AT (2) TEXAS
Austin, Texas - 7 p.m. ET
Texas Basics: 24-1, 19-1 Big 12 (1st), 1st in RPI, 2nd in AVCA poll, won 6 in a row, 10-0 at home, 53-24 all-time in NCAAs, including five final fours and the 1988 title (6th appearance in a row; 26th overall)
Texas State Basics: 22-12, 13-3 Southland (1st, West Division), 108th in RPI, won 13 in a row, 6-6 in true road matches, 11-10 away from home, 0-6 all-time in NCAAs (first appearance since 2007; 7th overall)
Notes: Texas has won 20 in a row at home and has won 30 of 31 sets at home this season. UT senior outside hitter Destinee Hooker is the Big 12 Player of the Year this year after being a first-team All-American in 2008 (and a second-team selection in 2007). She also is a thre-time NCAA champion in the high jump. She is first among players in the tournament in points (5.86; 3rd overall in DI), as well as second in kills (4.87; 5th overall). Texas ranks second to Penn State among all DI teams in hitting percentage (.335), as well as second to PSU among tourney teams in blocks (3.04; 4th overall). Texas has won 42 in a row against fellow Lone Star State schools, dating back to 2004.

(6) WASHINGTON VS. NORTHERN COLORADO
Fort Collins, Colorado - 7 p.m. ET
Washington Basics: 23-5, 13-5 Pac-10 (T-2nd), 5th in RPI, 6th in AVCA poll, 3-3 in last 6, 5-0 at neutral sites, 14-3 away from home, 28-12 all-time in NCAAs, including three final fours and 2003 title (8th straight appearance; 14th overall)
Northern Colorado Basics: 21-11, 12-4 Big Sky (T-2nd), Big Sky tournament champion, 106th in RPI, 9-2 in last 11, 3-3 at neutral sites, 12-8 way from home, first appearance in NCAAs since moving to Division I in 2004.
Notes: Washington ranks fifth among DI schools in hitting percentage (.288), while Bianca Rowland ranks third individually in hitting (.460). UW senior Jill Collymore - who is second among all tournament players in aces (0.54; 9th overall in DI) - is a two-time Academic All-American (2nd team in '09, 3rd team in '08). This is the first time any Northern Colorado team has ever qualified for the NCAA tournament.

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON AT (16) FLORIDA
Gainesville, Florida - 7:30 p.m. ET
Florida Basics: 22-5, 16-4 SEC (2nd, Eastern Division), 16th in RPI, 14th in AVCA poll, 11-2 in last 13, 12-2 at home, 49-19 all-time in NCAAs, including 7 final fours (19th appearance in a row; 20th overall)
College of Charleston Basics: 18-12, 12-4 SoCon (2nd, South Division), Southern Conference tournament champion, 95th in RPI, 11-2 in last 13, 6-6 in true road matches, 9-10 away from home, 1-5 all-time in NCAAs (first appearance since 2007; 6th overall)
Notes: UF's Kelly Murphy was the AVCA National Freshman of the Year and a third-team All-American in 2008. Florida ranks seventh nationally in hitting percentage (.288), as well as 13th in kills (14.56) and 19th in assists). The College of Charleston is 29th in blocks (2.57).

IPFW AT (5) ILLINOIS
Champaign, Illinois - 8 p.m. ET
Illinois Basics: 24-5, 16-4 Big Ten (2nd), 4th in RPI, 8th in AVCA poll, 15-2 in the last 17, 11-1 at home, 23-17 all-time in NCAAs, including two final fours (2nd straight appearance; 18th overall)
IPFW: 20-11, 11-7 Summit League (3rd), Summite League tournament champion, 128th in RPI, 8-2 in last 10, 7-5 in true road matches, 9-5 away from home, first NCAA appearance since moving to Division I in 2001.
Notes: Illinois junior middle blocker Johannah Bangert is the nation's leader in blocks per set, at 1.58. U of I junior outside hitter Laure DeBruler ranks sixth among tournament players in kills (4.49; 14th overall) and seventh in points (4.98; 14th overall). Illinois has won 19 matches in a row at home, excluding contests against Penn State.

MIDDLE TENNESSEE AT COLORADO STATE
Fort Collins, Colorado - 9:30 p.m. ET
Colorado State Basics: 23-5, 15-1 Mountain West (1st), 18th in RPI, 25th in AVCA poll, 7-1 in last 8 and 19-2 in last 21, 13-3 at home, 18-20 all-time in NCAAs (15th consecutive appearance; 20th overall)
Middle Tennessee Basics: 25-9, 15-2 Sun Belt (2nd, East Division), 30th in RPI, 5-1 in last 6 and 15-2 in last 17, 9-3 in true road matches, 11-6 away from home, 4-4 all-time in NCAAs (4th consecutive appearance; 5th overall)
Notes: CSU junior outside hitter Danielle Minch is the Mountain West Player of the Year. Colorado State is 16th in the nation in blocks, at 2.70 per set. Middle Tennessee ranks ninth nationally - and second among unseeded tournament teams - in hitting percentage (.285). Individually, MTSU's Stacy Oladinni is one of just nine DI players to be hitting over .400 (.403).

Mira Djuric and Florida State are the No. 3 national seed

The complete 64-team field for the 2009 NCAA Championship was announced this afternoon. For a printable version of the bracket, click here. The best way to follow the action throughout the tournament will be with NCAA.com's interactive bracket - which features live scoring of all matches, as well as links for audio and video coverage. You can view the interactive bracket here. Now let's get to some initial reaction to the bracket ...

WHO GOT IN AND WHO DIDN'T?

The three power conferences led the way in number of berths, as expected. The Pac-10 - which currently has seven teams ranked in the top 20 - saw eight of its 10 members qualify for the tournament, while the Big Ten and Big 12 have six teams each in the field. The surprise was that the ACC - which has just one team (Florida State) that has cracked the AVCA poll (which has no bearing on NCAA selections) this season - garnered five invitations, including three that went to teams outside of the RPI top 45 (Miami, Georgia Tech and Clemson). The SEC came next with four teams in the field, while there are three teams each from the BIG EAST and Mountain West. Five other leagues - Conference USA, the Atlantic 10, Big West, Missouri Valley and Sun Belt - had two teams in the field. All other conferences had just one qualifier. One particularly noteworthy member of that group is the West Coast Conference, which had four different teams ranked in the AVCA poll at some point during the season - but got just its league champ (Saint Mary's) into the tournament.

The way it worked out, every team listed 43rd or higher in the most-recent RPI (which was released on Monday and only included results through Sunday, Nov. 22) made the field. There were six teams with an RPI lower than 43rd that did garner at-large bids:

UC Santa Barbara - 46
Miami - 47
Oklahoma - 48
Georgia Tech - 50
Washington State - 53
Clemson - 57

So here is a list of the non-qualifiers that were listed in the RPI above at least one team that did earn an at-large berth:

Pittsburgh - 44
North Dakota State - 45
Furman - 49
Missouri State - 51
Delaware - 52
South Florida - 54
Purdue - 55 (not eligible for at-large selection - did not have an overall winning record)
Kansas - 56

Two other noteworthy omissions from the field were San Diego and UC Irvine, both of whom were ranked in the AVCA poll for much of the season. USD was ranked in the first 12 AVCA polls of the season, peaking at 15th early on, before falling out two weeks ago. The Toreros are still listed as the third team receiving votes outside of the top 25 - but finished second in the WCC and were just 60th in the RPI. UC Irvine was ranked for nine weeks during the season, peaking at 18th, and remains the sixth team outside of the top 25. The Anteaters tied for second in the Big West and were just 69th in the RPI. There were also five other teams that appeared in the AVCA top 25 at some point early on this season, but did not make the field: Purdue (55th in RPI), Pepperdine (72nd), Utah (75th), Santa Clara (97th) and Kansas State (107th).

WHO'S BEEN HERE BEFORE?
The biggest story of this year's tournament is probably Penn State's quest to become the first school ever to win three consecutive NCAA titles. Since the event began in 1981, six different teams - Hawai'i in 1982 and '83, Pacific in '85 and '86, UCLA in '90 and '91, Stanford in '96 and '97, USC in 2002 and 2003 and Penn State in '07 and '08 - have won back-to-back titles, but the other five have failed in their quest for a third straight championship. In fact, the only school from that group to reach the title match in their attempt for a three-peat was UCLA, which fell in four sets to Stanford in 1992.

In all, nine of the 10 schools that have previously won the NCAA championship will be in the field with chances to add to their trophy cases. Stanford (No. 4 seed, 1st/2nd round host, regional host) leads the way with six NCAA titles - as well as seven runner-up finishes (including in each of the last three years). There are six schools that have won three titles will be looking for No. 4 this year: Hawai'i (No. 12 seed, at USC for 1st/2nd round), Long Beach State (at UCLA for 1st/2nd round), Nebraska (No. 10 seed, 1st/2nd round host), Penn State (No. 1 seed, 1st/2nd round host), UCLA (No. 8 seed, 1st/2nd round host) and USC (1st/2nd round host). Particularly noteworthy is that two of those three-time champions - Long Beach State (winners in 1989, '93 and '98) and UCLA (champions in 1984, '90 and '91) - will face off in the first round in Los Angeles. Two other teams in the field are former champions: Texas (No. 2 seed, 1st/2nd round host) and Washington (No. 6 seed, 1st/2nd round host). The only former champion not in the field is Pacific (champs in 1985 and '86; 129th in RPI this season).

Special congratulations go out to the five teams who will make their first-ever appearance in the DI tournament: Army, IPFW, Niagara, Northern Colorado and TCU. All of those garnered entry via automatic bids except for the Horned Frogs - who earned an at-large bid.

Two schools are returning to the NCAA tournament for the first time in more than a decade, as New Mexico garnered an at-large bid for its first appearance since 1994 and Coastal Carolina, the Big South Conference champ, does so for the first time since '98. Other schools that return to the tournament for the first time in at least five years are Baylor (last appearance was 2001), Florida State (2002), Miami (2002), Washington State (2002), George Mason (2003), Penn (2003) and Georgia Tech (2004). Two teams that have had some success in the NCAAs over the years - Arizona and Texas A&M - will be in the field for the first time since 2005. The Wildcats make their 22nd overall appearance and have a 26-21 all-time mark in the tournament, while the Aggies are 21-17 and make their 18th trip.

It should be noted that Penn State and Stanford remain as the only schools to have qualified for all 29 NCAA Championships. The Cardinal also holds the NCAA tournament records for all-time victories (92), winning percentage (.800), championships (6), championship-match appearances (14) and semifinal appearances (18).

Not only are all eight quarterfinalists from last year in the 2009 field, but all of them have earned national seedings. Of the final 16 from a year ago, all but three are back this season, with Purdue, Utah and Western Michigan missing the '09 tournament.

WHAT ABOUT THE SEEDING AND OPENING-WEEKEND HOSTS?
The Pac-10 also leads the way with five seeded teams, but only two of those squads were rewarded with the opportunity to play host to opening-weekend play. The Big Ten has four seeded teams, while the Big 12 boasts three and the SEC has a pair (though two other SEC squads also will host).

The biggest story among the seeding is certainly the respect given to Florida State, which is the No. 3 overall seed in the tournament despite being ranked 14th in the AVCA poll, making its first NCAA appearance since 2002 and holding a 1-10 all-time record in the NCAAs. But the Seminoles are 28-2 on the season, with both of their defeats coming in five-set affairs (at Florida and vs. Georgia Tech), and are riding a 16-match winning streak and have been second or third in every version of the RPI released this season. FSU is the only seeded team that didn't make the NCAA tournament a year ago.

On the flip side, Hawai'i, which stands 28-2 on the season, has won 24 in a row and has been ranked No. 3 in the AVCA poll for the last month and a half. But the Rainbow Wahine is just 22nd in the RPI and ended up being seeded 12th despite having three-set victories over two higher-seeded teams (No. 4 Stanford and No. 8 UCLA). Further, UH does not even get to play host to opening-weekend action, instead having to travel to USC (25th in RPI; 16th in AVCA).

Stanford - which was sixth in both the AVCA poll and RPI - earned the No. 4 seed over Illinois (4th in RPI; 5th in AVCA) and Washington (5th in RPI; 4th in AVCA).

In all, there will be five unseeded teams who will play host to first- and second-round action. Kentucky (21st in RPI; 10th in AVCA) did not garner a national seed, but will be an early-round host. Oregon is one of the teams traveling to Lexington and was seeded 14th, despite trailing UK in both the RPI (26th) and AVCA poll (18th). Another Pac-10 seeded team traveling next weekend is Washington (seeded 6th; 5th in RPI; 4th in AVCA), which heads to Colorado State (18th in RPI; 23rd in AVCA). The other Pac-10 seeded squad traveling is California (seedec 9th; 8th in RPI; 11th in AVCA), which heads to Ohio State (31st in RPI). Tennessee (19th in the RPI) will also serve as a host next weekend, with Minnesota (13th in the RPI; 13th in the AVCA) heading to Knoxville.

As it turned out, all of the top 13 teams in the RPI earned national seeds, and they were joined by Florida (seeded 16th; 16th in RPI), Hawai'i (seeded 12th; 22nd in RPI) and Oregon (seeded 14th; 26th in RPI). Out of the top 22 in the RPI, all but four teams garnered a national seed and/or the opportunity to host early-round action. Those that were left out were Notre Dame (14th in RPI; at Michigan for 1st/2nd rounds), Florida International (15th in RPI; at Florida for 1st/2nd rounds), Arizona (17th in RPI; at LSU for 1st/2nd rounds) and Northern Iowa (20th in RPI; at Nebraska for 1st/2nd rounds).

SOME INTERESTING FIRST-ROUND MATCHUPS
Upon initially seeing the bracket, here are a few first-round matches that caught my eye:
• (9) California vs. Lipscomb - Not only do the Golden Bears have to travel to Columbus, Ohio, for the opening weekend, but they will have one of the biggest first-round tests of any seeded team. The Lady Bisons are 28-3, have won 25 in a row and are 34th in the RPI.
• Long Beach State at (8) UCLA - There's nothing like a pair of schools that have won three NCAA titles apiece squaring off in the opening round. The Beach, champs of the Big West, is 36th in the RPI.
• Notre Dame vs. Ohio - Notre Dame, at 14th, was the team with the highest RPI that did not earn a national seed. Instead the Fighting Irish are forced to take on the MAC-champion Bobcats in what will be the only first-round match between top-25 RPI squads (OU is 24th).
• Duke at Tennessee - Another great matchup of high-RPI teams. The Lady Vols are 19th, while the Blue Devils are 27th - and both will be taking part in one of the toughest opening-weekend sites. All four teams are among the top 37 in the RPI.
• (13) Minnesota vs. Louisville - The Gophers, fresh off a sweep of fifth-ranked and fifth-seeded Illinois on Saturday, have to travel to Knoxville for the opening weekend, and will face BIG EAST champion Louisville (38th in the RPI) in the opening round.
• Middle Tennessee at Colorado State - Two conference champions who have had great seasons match up. CSU is 18th in the RPI and was tops in the Mountain West. MTSU is 30th in the RPI and won the Sun Belt.
• Saint Louis vs. Wichita State - The opening-round matchup between teams that are closest to each other in RPI (as well as a pair of conference runners-up). The Billikens, ranked 22nd by the AVCA, are 29th and the Shockers come in at 28th.
• Tulane at (15) LSU - After winning their first SEC championship since 1991 this week, the Tigers were swept by Conference USA champion Rice on Friday. Now LSU begins the NCAAs against another C-USA squad, Tulane - which is 32nd in the RPI.

LOOKING AHEAD ...
A few observations about possible future matchups as the tournament progresses:

• Penn State has beaten Cal en route to each of its last two championships (semifinals in '07; quarterfinals in '08) and could face the Golden Bears again this season, in the quarterfinals.
• Penn State could potentially face Florida in the round of 16, and the match would be in Gainesville.
• Penn State and Stanford have met in each of the last two NCAA finals, but that cannot happen this season - as they would meet in the semifinals.
• Eighth-seeded UCLA and ninth-seeded Cal could play in the round of 16. The Bruins beat the Bears in four sets twice this season.
• It could be the second straight year that a seeded Hawai'i team has to beat USC on its home floor in order to reach the round of 16. Last year, the Rainbow Wahine won in three sets.
• Stanford could potentially have to beat a pair of squads that defeated the Cardinal during the regular season - just to reach the semifinals. Stanford could face Notre Dame in the round of 16 and Hawai'i in the quarterfinals - both of whom had 3-0 wins over the Cardinal early in the season. Stanford beat Hawai'i in the 2008 quarterfinals.
• The brutal road to a title for third-ranked Hawai'i could look like this: first round vs. New Mexico, second round vs. 16th-ranked USC on the Trojans' home floor, third round vs. fifth-seeded Illinois, quarterfinals vs. fourth-seeded Stanford on the Cardinal's home floor, then the semifinals against unbeaten Penn State and then the championship match.
• Florida State, though seeded third, could have to face two teams ranked higher than the Seminoles in the AVCA poll - just to reach the semifinals. FSU, ranked 14th, could face 10th-ranked Kentucky in the round of 16 and either fourth-ranked Washington or No. 13 Minnesota in the quarterfinals.
• Washington could have to face 11th-seeded Minnesota in Minneapolis in the round of 16.
• Washington ended the regular-season with a five-set defeat against Oregon. The Huskies could have to beat the Ducks to reach the semifinals.
• The Big 12 has three teams ranked in the top 10 of both the RPI and AVCA poll. All three of them are in the same quarter of the bracket.
• Seventh-seeded Iowa State and 10th-seeded Nebraska could meet in the round of 16. The squads split their regular-season meetings, both winning on the road.
• Texas' only loss this season came against Iowa State, but the Longhorns may need to beat the Cyclones just to reach the semifinals. UT also beat ISU in last year's quarterfinals.
• Another possibility in the quarterfinals for Texas is a matchup with Nebraska ... in Omaha.

Tiffany Gaerke and Dayton rallied to with the Atlantic 10 title

The field for the 2009 NCAA Championship - which will be revealed in full on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPNews - is beginning to crystallize, as 20 more teams earned automatic bids over the weekend. In all, we now have 23 automatic qualifiers into the field, with eight more auto bids to be handed out this week (see below for a rundown of when those will be decided). Near the bottom of this post is an updated chart that shows the automatic qualifiers from every conference, but first here are some of the highlights from one of the most-exciting weekends of the season:

• Top-ranked Penn State had its streak of nine consecutive sweeps ended on Friday when Purdue took the opening set by a 31-29 score, but the Nittany Lions rebounded for the victory and then won in three on Saturday at Indiana to secure PSU's seventh consecutive outright Big Ten title. Penn State has now won 94 straight matches.
• No. 15 Florida State swept both Boston College and Maryland to earn its first-ever ACC championship. The Seminoles have won 15 straight matches and are 27-2 on the season and 18-1 in league play.
• The other regular-season title that was determined over the weekend went to Long Beach State - which swept UC Riverside on Friday and then outlasted UC Irvine in five sets on Saturday. The 49ers were down 4-1 in the final set against the Anteaters, but rallied to win the match and their second consecutive Big West crown. The Beach will make its 23rd consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament.
• One of the best matchups in tournament play came in the final of the Atlantic 10 Championship, which saw Dayton rally from losing the first two sets to win in five against No. 20 Saint Louis.
• Louisville came into the weekend in some danger of missing the NCAA tournament for the first time in 12 years. But the Cardinals, playing at home, proceeded to knock of No. 23 Notre Dame - which had been 14-0 in BIG EAST play - in five in the semifinals and then down second-seeded Cincinnati in the final of the league tournament.
• Rice also defeated the top two seeds in its league tournament en route to taking the title on their home court. The Owls defeated top-seeded Southern Miss in the semis and then took down Tulsa in the championship match to win the Conference USA championship
• Albany won all 10 regular-season league matches in America East, sprinting away from the rest of the conference (four teams tied for second with 5-5 records). But the Great Danes were upset in the final of the league tournament, as Binghamton came through with a four-set win.
• Florida International had won 23 consecutive matches - dating back to Sept. 12 - but the Golden Panthers were upset by Middle Tennessee in the championship match of the Sun Belt tournament.
• Another team that had gone unbeaten in league play but couldn't get it done in the tournament was North Dakota State. The Bison were 18-0 in Summit League action during the regular season, but then lost in five sets to third-seeded IPFW in the championship match.
• Furman was 16-0 in the Southern Conference during the regular season, but ended up getting swept by the College of Charleston in the final of the SoCon tournament.
• There were teams that continued their conference dominance through the tournament. Lipscomb was 20-0 in the Atlantic Sun during the regular season and cruised through the league tournament - while Long Island was unbeaten in 16 regular-season Northeast Conference matches and didn't drop a set in the NEC tourney.
• Two conferences - the MEAC and SWAC - featured title matches pitting teams that had been unbeaten in league play against each other. Florida A&M swept Maryland Eastern Shore for its ninth consecutive MEAC title, while Alabama A&M swept Grambling State in the SWAC.
• In non-tournament action, the Pac-10 (again) featured a bunch of great matchups. Two of the best saw No. 6 Stanford top 19th-ranked Arizona and 18th-ranked Oregon beat No. 7 UCLA - both in five sets. In other matches between ranked teams, No. 15 USC swept the Ducks and the Wildcats beat 11th-ranked Cal in four.
• In the SEC, 13th-ranked Florida topped No. 10 Kentucky in four sets, but also lost in four to Tennessee.
• No. 14 Michigan won the premier match in the Big Ten with a sweep of 12th-ranked Minnesota.
• No. 24 Baylor had a tough week, getting swept by second-ranked Texas and No. 9 Nebraska.

A QUICK LOOK AT THIS WEEK'S BIDS
Here is a look at when each of the eight remaining automatic berths will be handed out:

MONDAY - The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship final takes place tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET in Buffalo and will be shown live on ESPNU. It features second-seeded Niagara (22-8, 14-4; RPI: 162) facing fourth-seeded Marist (18-12, 11-7; RPI: 219) - which upset the league's regular-season champion, Fairfield, in the semifinals.
TUESDAY - The Colonial Athletic Association Championship final will be played at 7 p.m. ET in Richmond, Va.
WEDNESDAY - No. 3 Hawai'i will look to capture the Western Athletic Conference Championship, as the title match begins at 6:30 p.m. MT in Las Vegas. Also, the Southeastern Conference champion will be determined - and it's assured that Florida's NCAA-record streak of 18 consecutive titles will be ended. No. 17 LSU already has clinched a share of the SEC crown, having completed league play with an 18-2 mark. But 10th-ranked Kentucky can grab a share of the title with a win at Tennessee (which beat UK in four sets in Lexington on Oct. 21) on Wednesday - and the Wildcats would earn the league's automatic bid due to a season sweep of the Tigers. No. 2 Texas also can clinch the Big 12 Conference title and automatic bid with a victory at Oklahoma (UT can also do so with a win on Saturday against Kansas). Also, No. 4 Washington plays host to Oregon State. A win by the Huskies would pull them into a tie for first in the Pac-10, with Stanford.
FRIDAY - The Pac-10 crown will be decided, and the two top contenders both have tough home matches to finish the regular season. Fourth-ranked Washington - which starts the week at 12-4 in league play - plays host to No. 18 Oregon, while sixth-ranked Stanford (13-4 in the Pac-10) welcomes archrival and 11th-ranked Cal.
SATURDAY - The final two automatic bids will be handed out. No. 20 Northern Iowa - which went unbeaten in league play - hopes to be in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship final that starts at 3 p.m. CT and will be televised on a host of networks. The final automatic qualifier will be the Big Sky Conference champion, which will be determined in the tournament final that begins at 7 p.m. PT in Cheney, Wash.
SUNDAY - The entire 64-team bracket for the 2009 NCAA Championship will be revealed at 3 p.m. ET on ESPNews.

Annie Fesl and Cincinnati hope to be playing in the BIG EAST final on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPNU

It's one of the biggest weekends of the season, as 17 teams will clinch automatic bids to the NCAA Championship this weekend. Six of those will be handed out on Saturday, starting with the America East Conference final that begins at 1 p.m. ET. Fans of teams fighting for at-large bids should probably be pulling for Albany (America East), Lipscomb (Atlantic Sun) and North Dakota State (Summit) to win their tournaments, as well as either Florida International or Middle Tennessee in the Sun Belt.

On Sunday, 11 more squads will punch their tickets to the tourney. Bubble teams will likely be hoping that Tulane (Conference USA), Furman (SoCon) and Ohio (MAC) win their tournaments, and that either Notre Dame or Cincinnati takes the BIG EAST and either Saint Louis or Dayton wins the Atlantic 10.

In addition to the conference tournaments, there are seven matchups of ranked teams this weekend and 11 televised matches. Below is a complete list of all of the matches involving a Top-25 team, all of the televised matches and all of the conference finals with an NCAA bid at stake.

WEEKEND SCOREBOARD WATCH
All Times Eastern
Friday
No. 23 Notre Dame vs. Seton Hall (BIG EAST quarterfinals), 3:30 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 1 Penn State at Purdue, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
South Carolina at No. 10 Kentucky, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 12 Minnesota at No. 14 Michigan, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 13 Florida at Tennessee, 7 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats
Boston College at No. 15 Florida State, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
Iowa at No. 5 Illinois, 8 p.m. - Live Stats
Mississippi State at No. 17 LSU, 8 p.m. - Live Stats
Creighton at No. 21 Northern Iowa, 8 p.m. - Live Stats
New Mexico at TCU, 8 p.m. - TV: The Mtn. (airs Friday, 9:30 p.m. ET) | Free Video | Live Stats
No. 6 Stanford at No. 19 Arizona, 9 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats
No. 11 California at Arizona State, 9:30 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 7 UCLA at Oregon State, 10 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats
No. 15 USC at No. 18 Oregon, 10 p.m. - Live Stats
Saturday
America East Conference Championship, 1 p.m. - Tournament Central
Big South Conference Championship, 2 p.m. - Tournament Central
UNLV at No. 25 Colorado State, 3 p.m. - Live Stats
Atlantic Sun Conference Championship, 3 p.m. - Tournament Central
No. 23 Notre Dame at Louisville (BIG EAST semifinals), 3:30 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 9 Nebraska at Kansas, 4 p.m. - Live Stats
Portland at No. 22 Saint Mary's, 4 p.m. - Live Stats
Sun Belt Conference Championship, 4 p.m. - Tournament Central
BYU at San Diego State, 4 p.m. - TV: CBSC (airs Tuesday, 11 p.m. ET) | Free Video | Live Stats
No. 8 Iowa State at Missouri, 6 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 1 Penn State at Indiana, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 20 Saint Louis vs. Xavier (A10 Semifinals), 7:30 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 2 Texas at No. 24 Baylor, 8 p.m. - Live Stats
Wisconsin at No. 5 Illinois, 8 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 12 Minnesota at Michigan State, 8 p.m. - TV: Big Ten Network (airs Sunday, 8 p.m. ET) | Live Stats
Drake at No. 21 Northern Iowa, 8 p.m. - Live Stats
Summit League Championship, 8 p.m. - Tournament Central
Ohio Valley Conference Championship, 8:30 p.m. - Tournament Central
No. 6 Stanford at Arizona State, 9 p.m. - Live Stats
Washington State at No. 4 Washington, 10 p.m. - TV: FSN (delayed) | Free Video | Live Stats
No. 15 USC at Oregon State, 10 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats
No. 7 UCLA at No. 18 Oregon, 11 p.m. - Live Stats
Sunday
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championship, Noon - TV: ESPNU (airs 10 p.m. ET) | Tournament Central
Horizon League Championship, 1 p.m. - Tournament Central
Northeast Conference Championship, 1 p.m. - Tournament Central
Maryland at No. 15 Florida State, 1 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 13 Florida at No. 10 Kentucky, 2 p.m. - TV: FSN | Live Stats
Conference USA Championship, 2 p.m. - TV: CBSC | Tournament Central
Southern Conference Championship, 2 p.m. - Tournament Central
Auburn at Mississippi, 2 p.m. - TV: CSS | Live Stats
Alabama at No. 17 LSU, 2:30 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 11 California at No. 19 Arizona, 3 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats
BIG EAST Conference Championship, 3 p.m. - TV: ESPNU | Tournament Central
Mid-American Conference Championship, 3 p.m. - Tournament Central
Southland Conference Championship, 3 p.m. - Tournament Central
Atlantic 10 Conference Championship, 4 p.m. - TV: CBSC | Tournament Central
Patriot League Championship, 4 p.m. - Tournament Central
Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship, 8 p.m. - TV: ESPNU | Tournament Central

Natalia Valentin and Florida International are 14-0 in Sun Belt Conference play

With only three and a half weeks left before the NCAA Championship field is announced (Sunday, Nov. 29 at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN News), it's time to examine how some of the big conference races are shaping up. First we'll take a quick look at what's happening at the top of the standings in each of the 13 leagues that have at least one team that is ranked or receiving votes in this week's AVCA poll. Below that, we revisit the 19 squads across the country that continue to remain perfect in conference action.

Atlantic 10
Dayton leads the way with an 11-1 league mark, with four matches to go. No. 21 Saint Louis stands one-half game back, at 10-1, with five to play - though the Flyers topped the Billikens in the teams' only meeting of the regular season. The conference tournament - which has been won by one of those two schools for each of the last six years (Dayton in 2003, '04, '05 and '07; Saint Louis in 2006 and '08) - takes place Nov. 20-22 in Dayton, with six teams qualifying. The championship match (Nov. 22, 4 p.m. ET) will be televised live by CBS College Sports Network.

Atlantic Coast
No. 16 Florida State is atop the standings with a 12-1 conference record, with seven matches remaining. The Seminoles have a one-game lead on Duke (11-2), and those two will meet on Friday in Tallahassee. FSU - which has won just one regular-season ACC crown (co-champions with Duke in 1992) - took a five-set decision in Durham last month. Georgia Tech - the only team to have defeated the Seminoles in ACC action - is 10-3 and will play host to FSU on Nov. 14. The ACC does not have a conference tournament.

Big 12
Second-ranked Texas stands a perfect 13-0 in one of the nation's toughest conferences and has a two-game lead over No. 8 Iowa State (11-2) with seven matches to play. The Longhorns and Cyclones will hook up tonight in Ames. UT - seeking its first outright Big 12 title since 1997 after being co-champs in each of the last two years - won in three sets in Austin in September. Iowa State has never finished higher than fourth since the Big 12 was founded in 1996. The Big 12 does not have a conference tournament.

BIG EAST
Notre Dame remains unbeaten in league play with a 10-0 record and four matches left. Cincinnati - which lost in five sets at Notre Dame in October - is right behind at 9-1, with Pittsburgh at 8-2. The Fighting Irish are seeking their first BIG EAST title since 2005, after having claimed at least of a share of the regular-season crown each year from 1999-2005. The BIG EAST Championship takes place Nov. 20-22 in Louisville (the Cardinals are the defending champions), with the top eight teams qualifying. The championship match (Nov. 22, 3 p.m. ET) will be televised by ESPNU.

Big Ten
Top-reanked Penn State has won 57 consecutive Big Ten matches and again stands atop the conference with a 12-0 record and eight matches to play. No. 5 Illinois is two back at 10-2, and the Fighting Illini will head to Happy Valley on Nov. 13. PSU - which is seeking its seventh consecutive outright Big Ten crown - won in three sets at Illinois in September. The Big Ten does not have a conference tournament.

Big West
UC Davis sits atop the conference standings with a 9-2 mark with five matches to play. UC Santa Barbara - which lost in five at UCD in October - is right behind at 9-3, while Long Beach State is in third at 7-3. The Aggies will play at LBSU - which beat UC Davis in three on Oct. 9 - on Saturday and will play host to UCSB on Nov. 13. In just its third season as a member of the Big West, UC Davis went 1-15 in league action in 2007 and 4-12 a year ago. The Big West does not have a conference tournament.

Missouri Valley
No. 25 Northern Iowa leads the way with a 12-0 record in league action and six matches remaining. Missouri State - which lost in four at UNI on Oct. 17 - is in second place with a 10-2 mark. Those teams will hook up again on Nov. 13 in Springfield, Mo. The State Farm MVC Championship takes place from Nov. 26-28 in Omaha. UNI has won eight of the last 11 MVC tournaments - though the Bears knocked off the Panthers in the title match in 2008.

Mountain West
Colorado State is in first place with a 10-1 record and six matches remaining. TCU - the lone squad to defeat the Rams in league play (3-0 on Oct. 22; CSU won 3-0 at home on Sept. 26) - is right behind at 10-2, while Utah is in third at 8-2. CSU will be at Utah on Nov. 12, having swept the Utes at home on Oct. 17. The MWC does not have a conference tournament.

Pacific-10
No. 4 Washington leads the way with a 9-2 league mark and seven matches remaining, while fifth-ranked Stanford and No. 7 UCLA are right behind with 8-3 records. The Huskies will play host to Stanford on Friday and head to UCLA on Nov. 14. The Cardinal dealt UW its first loss of the season in a five-set decision on Oct. 10, while the Huskies won in four against the Bruins on Oct. 16. Stanford has been the conference champion in each of the past three years. The Pac-10 does not have a conference tournament.

Southeastern
No. 11 Kentucky is atop the Eastern Division with a 10-1 mark and seven matches remaining. Right behind is ninth-ranked Florida, at 10-2, and Tennessee is in third at 8-3. The Wildcats will wind up the season with matches against those two, first visiting Gainesville on Nov. 22 and then welcoming the Lady Vols on Nov. 25. UK won in five at home against Florida on Oct. 2 and lost 3-1 to Tennessee on Oct. 21. In the Western Division, No. 19 LSU is 10-2 with six matches remaining and is three clear of second-place Auburn (6-5). The SEC does not have a conference tournament.

Sun Belt
Florida International is 14-0 in conference play, but Middle Tennessee (12-0) is right behind in the East Division. The Panthers won the first matchup between the teams, in four sets at home on Oct. 4. On Saturday, FIU heads to Murfreesboro, Tenn., for the rematch. The West Division is wide open, with New Orleans and Denver currently tied for first at 8-5. Arkansas State is right behind at 9-6, while Arkansas-Little Rock is 8-7 and North Texas is 6-7. The Pioneers play host to the Privateers on Thursday. The Sun Belt Championship takes place from Nov. 19-21 in Bowling Green, Ky.

West Coast
No. 25 Saint Mary's is on top of the standings with an 8-1 conference mark, with five to play. Right behind is 22nd-ranked San Diego, which is 7-2 and beat the Gaels in four sets on Oct. 17. SMC plays host to the Toreros on Nov. 14. USD has claimed at least a share of the WCC title in each of the last three seasons, while Saint Mary's has not won a conference crown since joining the WCC in 1987. The WCC does not have a conference tournament.

Western Athletic
No. 3 Hawai'i - which has won at least a share of the WAC regular-season title in all 13 years of league membership - is on pace to extend that streak, with an 11-0 record in league action with five to play. New Mexico State is in second with a 9-3 mark, while Idaho is 8-3. The Rainbow Wahine will play at Idaho on Nov. 14 after sweeping the Vandals at home in September. The six-team WAC Championship will be Nov. 23-25 in Las Vegas. The championship match (Nov. 25, 6:30 p.m. MT) will be televised by ESPNU.

Teams Undefeated in Conference Play

TODAY'S SCOREBOARD WATCH
Top 25 and Television Schedule
Purdue at Indiana, 7 p.m. - TV: Big Ten Network | Live Stats
No. 2 Texas at No. 8 Iowa State, 7:30 p.m. - Live Stats
Missouri at No. 10 Nebraska, 8 p.m. - TV: NET | Free Video | Live Stats
Oklahoma at No. 20 Baylor, 8 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 23 Texas A&M at Kansas State, 8 p.m. - TV: FSN | Live Stats
Kansas at Colorado, 9 p.m. - TV: FSN | Live Stats

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
No. 3 Hawai'i continued to roll with another dominant victory, this time by 25-12, 25-15, 25-15 scores on the road against San Jose State on Monday. Junior Dani Mafua set the Rainbow Wahine to 45 kills and just seven errors for a .458 atack percentage. Sophomore outside hitter Kanani Danielson had 15 kills on .519 hitting and senior middle Amber Kaufman posted 11 kills on 13 errorless swings for an .846 mark. Since dropping back-to-back matches to Texas and California on the first weekend of September, Hawai'i has won 17 in a row - including 14 sweeps. The Rainbow Wahine - which have won at least a share of the regular-season title in all 13 previous seasons of membership in the WAC - hold a 2.5 game lead in the conference standings.

Ellie Blankenship and Northern Iowa are ranked for the first time in nearly six years

This week's edition of the AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 was released yesterday. You can view it here. Here are a few notes:

• There are two new entrants in the poll this week, both of whom reenter the Top 25 for the first time in several years and are tied with each other for 25th.
• Northern Iowa is one of those teams tied for 25th. The Panthers have won 20 straight matches and stand 22-2 on the season, with the only defeats coming against No. 23 Texas A&M (3-1 on the road) and No. 8 Iowa State (3-1 at home). It marks the first national ranking for UNI - which leads the Missouri Valley Conference by two games with a 12-0 record - since it finished the 2003 season at 18th.
• Saint Mary's is also tied for the final spot, marking the first national ranking for the Gaels since Oct. 10, 2005. SMC stands 16-4 on the season with the defeats coming against No. 5 Stanford, No. 13 California (twice) and 22nd-ranked San Diego. The Gaels - who lead the Toreros by one game atop the West Coast Conference standings - also have a four-set victory over Texas A&M to their credit.
• After losing twice last week, UC Irvine fell out of the Top 25 and is now the third team receiving votes.
• The Pac-10 still leads all conferences with eight ranked teams, while the Big 12 boasts five squads in the rankings this week. The Big Ten has four ranked teams (all in the top 15), while the SEC has three and the West Coast Conference is the only other league with multiple ranked squads (two).
• The top four teams are all from different conferences, marking the 10th consecutive week that has been the case. The top 10 features three teams each from the Big 12 and Pac-10, as well as two from the Big Ten and one each from the WAC and SEC.
• The biggest upward mover this week was UCLA, which rose four spots to seventh, matching its season high. The largest drop among teams remaining in the poll was by Minnesota, which is down five slots to 12th.
• Penn State is No. 1 for the 34th consecutive poll - an AVCA record - since taking over the top spot on Oct. 29, 2007. PSU has been ranked in the top five for 76 consecutive polls, since finishing seventh in 2004. The Lions have been ranked in the top 10 in 93 straight polls, since checking in at 11th on Dec. 8, 2003.
• Texas has been No. 2 in every poll this season (which matches the highest ranking in program history). The Longhorns have been ranked in the top five for 27 consecutive polls, since being sixth to finish the 2007 season. UT has been in the top 10 in each of the last 54 polls, since being 11th on Oct. 2, 2006.
• Washington moved up a spot to fourth and is the only other team to have been in the top five in every poll this season.
• Illinois and Stanford are tied for fifth this week. That listing marks the highest ranking for the Illini since Sept. 22, 1992.
• Iowa State has recorded the highest ranking in program history for the fifth time in less than a year. The Cyclones were a then-all-time-best 12th in the final poll of 2008, before moving to 11th for the first time on Sept. 7 of this season and then cracking the top 10 for the first time the following week. ISU then moved up to ninth last week and is now an all-time high of eighth.
• Nebraska slid two spots to match its season-low ranking of 10th. The Cornhuskers did continue their streak of 92 straight top-10 rankings - dating back to finishing the 2003 season at 13th.
• Florida State is up to an all-time high ranking of 16th after appearing at 17th on five occasions before (once in 1993 and four times this season).
• LSU is up a spot to 19th - which is the highest ranking for the Tigers since they were 18th on Oct. 8, 2007.

Brittnee Cooper and LSU are up to seventh in the RPI

The latest edition of the official NCAA RPI came out this week. You can view it here. Below are some observations:

• Penn State slid up a spot past Florida State to second in this week's RPI, while Texas continued to hold on to the top spot. Illinois stayed at fourth, while Washington moved up two spots to fifth.
• For the fourth straight week, the Big Ten boasted three of the top six teams: No. 2 Penn State, No. 4 Illinois and No. 6 Minnesota. Six Pac-10 squads - No. 4 Washington, No. 7 UCLA, No. 9 Stanford, No. 11 California, No. 13 Arizona and No. 15 Oregon - are among the top 15.
• Two big upward movers this week were UCLA and LSU, which both rose six positions, to sixth and seventh, respectively.
• Notre Dame moved up one spot to 14th this week and continues to be the highest-ranked team in the RPI that is not listed in the Top 25 of the AVCA poll. The Irish are the second team receiving votes.
• There are five other teams - Colorado State (19th), Tennessee (20th), Florida International (22nd), Michigan State (23rd) and Ohio State (25th) - that are unranked but appear in the top 25 of the RPI.
• Among the others that fared better in the RPI than in the AVCA poll are Florida State (ranked 16th; RPI of 3rd), Minnesota (12th; 6th), LSU (19th; 8th), Michigan (15th; 10th) and Arizona (18th; 13th).
• Teams that appear considerably lower in the RPI than in the AVCA poll this week include Hawai'i (ranked 3rd; RPI of 18th), Florida (9th; 17th), Nebraska (10th; 16th), Kentucky (11th; 21st), USC (17th; 33rd), Baylor (20th; 30th), Saint Louis (21st; 32nd), San Diego (22nd; 55th), Texas A&M (23rd; 34th), Washington State (24th; 38th) and Saint Mary's (25th; 46th).
• If the NCAA Championship field was determined based soley on this RPI listing, and you assume that each conference's automatic bid goes to its highest-ranked team - then the last four teams to make the field as at-large participants would be Miami (Fla.), New Mexico, Oklahoma and North Carolina. The first four teams out would be Georgia Tech, Oregon State, San Diego and Virginia Tech.
• A field determined in that way would include eight teams from the Pac-10, as well as seven from the Big Ten, six from the Big 12, four each from the ACC and SEC, plus three from the BIG EAST, Missouri Valley and Mountain West and two each from the Atlantic 10, Big West and Sun Belt. All other conferences would have just one participant.

Florida State's Brianna Barry is hitting .527 this season

The latest edition of NCAA statistics also were released on Monday. The complete listings can be found here. A couple of quick notes:

• The NCAA Division I season record for hitting percentage is .519, which was done by Tyrona Clark from Florida A&M in 1988 (the only other DI player ever to hit over .500 for a season also was a Rattler: Maria Andonova, who hit .504 in 2004). Right now there are two players who are ahead of that pace. Penn State junior middle hitter Arielle Wilson leads all players with a .569 mark, while Florida State senior middle blocker Brianna Barry is at .527.
• Penn State, at .412, is on pace to break the Division I season record for team hitting percentage - a category the Nittany Lions have led the country in over each of the last three seasons. The DI record is .406 by the 1983 Hofstra team. Last year's PSU squad sits second on that list at .390. No other Division I team has a hitting percentage of even .330 this season, and only five schools are hitting over .290.
• The top three teams in hitting percentage match exactly the top three teams in the AVCA poll: Penn State (.412), Texas (.329) and Hawai'i (.310).

The Division I leader in each category is below.

TEAM
Service Aces - Sacred Heart, 2.37
Assists - Texas A&M, 14.16
Blocks - Idaho, 3.11
Digs - NJIT, 20.24
Hitting Percentage - Penn State, .412
Kills - Texas A&M, 14.96
Winning Percentage - Penn State and Texas, 1.000
INDIVIDUAL
Service Aces - Ashley Herman, Delaware State, 0.65
Assists - Kendall Bateman, USC, 12.23
Blocks - Amanda Gil, UCLA, 1.61
Digs - Sabrina Baby, NJIT, 6.29
Hitting Percentage - Arielle Wilson, Penn State, .569
Kills - Burgundy McCurty, Siena, 5.48

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
No. 3 Hawai'i began the week with another decisive victory, this time a 25-12, 25-8, 25-17 home triumph against Louisiana Tech. UH held the Lady Techsters to just 16 kills and 19 attack errors (eight on blocks) for a -.032 hitting mark. Sophomore outside hitter Kanani Danielson had 11 kills for the Rainbow Wahine - who have won 13 in a row.

Jamel Nicholas and Notre Dame are 11th in the RPI

The second edition of the official NCAA RPI came out this week. You can view it here. Below are some observations:

• The top four positions - Texas, Florida State, Penn State and Illinois - in this week's RPI remained the same, but Washington slid up three spots to round out the top five.
• For the second straight week, four of the top seven teams in the RPI are from the Big Ten: No. 3 Penn State, No. 4 Illinois, No. 6 Michigan and No. 7 Minnesota. The Pac-10 has five of the top 14: No. 5 Washington, No. 8 Arizona, No. 9 Oregon, No. 13 California and No. 14 Stanford.
• Notre Dame rose five positions to 11th in this week's RPI, though the Irish are the fifth team listed outside of the Top 25 in the AVCA poll. ND stands 13-4 on the season and sits atop the BIG EAST Conference standings with a 7-0 mark. Its defeats came against No. 11 Michigan, No. 17 Florida State, No. 20 LSU and Tennessee (which is receiving votes) - and Notre Dame has a win against No. 6 Stanford to its credit.
• There are four other teams - Florida International (16th), Michigan State (18th), Ohio (20th) and Tennessee (23rd) - that are unranked but appear in the top 25 of the RPI.
• Among the others that fared better in the RPI than in the AVCA poll are Michigan (ranked 11th; RPI of 6th), Arizona (16th; 8th) and LSU (20th; 12th).
• Teams that appear considerably lower in the RPI than in the AVCA poll this week include Hawai'i (ranked 3rd; RPI of 22nd), Nebraska (5th; 17th), Stanford (6th; 14th), Kentucky (7th; 19th), UCLA (13th; 25th), USC (18th; 27th), UC Irvine (19th; 55th), Texas A&M (21st; 33rd), and San Diego (22nd; 45th).
• If the NCAA Championship field was determined based soley on this RPI listing, and you assume that each conference's automatic bid goes to its highest-ranked team - then the last four teams to make the field as at-large participants would be Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, New Mexico and Kansas. The first four teams out would be Saint Mary's, Northwestern, Oklahoma and North Carolina.
• A field determined in that way would include nine teams from the Pac-10, as well as eight from the Big Ten, six from the Big 12, four each from the ACC and SEC, plus three from the Missouri Valley Conference and two each from the Atlantic 10, BIG EAST, Big West, Mountain West and Sun Belt. All other conferences would have just one participant.

Danielle Minch and Colorado State have won 12 in a row

This week's edition of the AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 was released on Monday. You can view it here. Here are a few notes:

• Riding a 12-match winning streak that includes sweeps of BYU and Utah last week, Colorado State moved into the final spot in the Top 25. It's the Rams' first ranking since they were 24th in the preseason. Long Beach State surrendered the final spot to CSU after losing in five to UC Irvine.
• The Pac-10 still leads all conferences with seven ranked teams (all at 18th or higher), while the Big 12 boasts five squads in the rankings this week. The Big Ten has four teams in the rankings, but all of them are among the top 11. The SEC has three teams ranked, and six leagues have one ranked team each.
• For the eighth consecutive week, the Big Ten has three teams - No. 1 Penn State, No. 6 Minnesota and No. 10 Illinois - ranked among the top 10. The top 10 is rather balanced, though, with the Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC all featuring a pair in the group.
• The biggest upward mover this week was LSU, which moved up four spots to 20th. It's the Tigers' highest ranking in more than two years, since being 18th on Oct. 8, 2007. The largest drops were by Baylor and Saint Louis, which both dropped four spots to 23rd and 24th, respectively.
• Penn State is No. 1 for the 32nd consecutive poll - an AVCA record - since taking over the top spot on Oct. 29, 2007, while Texas has been No. 2 in every poll this season (which matches the highest ranking in program history).
• Kentucky moved up another spot to seventh, which is the highest listing for the Wildcats since being fifth on Oct. 5, 1993. UK has moved up in each of the last four polls that have been released.
• Arizona rose two positions to 16th, which is the highest ranking for the Wildcats since they finished the 2005 campaign at seventh.
• Illinois moved up two places to eighth - which matches its season high.

The latest edition of NCAA statistics also were released on Monday. The complete listings can be found here. There was a lot of movement at the top of the individual lists this week, as we have new Division I leaders in four of the six categories: Marist junior middle blocker Lindsey Schmid in service aces (0.67), Iowa State senior Kaylee Manns in assists (12.28), UCLA sophomore middle blocker Amanda Gil in blocking (1.58) and Siena senior Burgundy McCurty in kills (5.34). In the team categories, Sacred Heart moved into first in service aces (2.19), while Idaho just edged past Texas for first in blocks (3.10). Also, Texas A&M took over the top spot in kills (15.09) to make the Aggies the national leader in both that and assists (14.28). The Division I leader in each category is below.

TEAM
Service Aces - Sacred Heart, 2.19
Assists - Texas A&M, 14.28
Blocks - Idaho, 3.10
Digs - NJIT, 20.54
Hitting Percentage - Penn State, .421
Kills - Texas A&M, 15.09
Winning Percentage - Penn State and Texas, 1.000
INDIVIDUAL
Service Aces - Lindsey Schmid, Marist, 0.67
Assists - Kaylee Manns, Iowa State, 12.28
Blocks - Amanda Gil, UCLA, 1.58
Digs - Sabrina Baby, NJIT, 6.51
Hitting Percentage - Arielle Wilson, Penn State, .591
Kills - Burgundy McCurty, Siena, 5.34

TODAY'S SCOREBOARD WATCH
Top-25 and Televised Matches (All Times Eastern)
Tennessee at No. 7 Kentucky, 7 p.m. - TV: ESPNU | Live Stats
No. 11 Michigan at Michigan State, 7 p.m. - TV: Big Ten Network | Live Stats
Missouri at No. 2 Texas, 7:30 p.m. - TV: TWC Texas Channel | Free Video | Live Stats
Oklahoma at No. 21 Texas A&M, 7:30 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats
No. 14 Iowa State at No. 5 Nebraska, 8 p.m. - TV: NET | Free Video | Live Stats

Iowa State's Rachel Hockaday

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
A Look at Last Night's Highlights
There were two big matchups of nationally-ranked teams last night in Big 12 action, but both of those ended in sweeps. No. 13 Iowa State got 15 kills from sophomore outside hitter Rachel Hockaday and edged No. 22 Texas A&M by scores of 26-24, 25-21, 26-24, while No. 7 Nebraska won 28-26, 25-17, 25-17 on the road against No. 17 Baylor. Junior libero Kayla Banwarth had 22 digs for the Huskers, while junior setter Sydney Anderson led NU to a .320 hitting mark.

The other ranked teams that played on Wednesday had little trouble. No. 2 Texas moved to 13-0 with a 25-16, 25-22, 25-12 win at Kansas. Senior All-America outside hitter Destinee Hooker had 18 kills and sophomore Michelle Kocher set the Longhorns to a .356 attack percentage. Senior libero Ashley Edinger had 19 digs in leading No. 10 Illinois to a 25-20, 25-16, 25-19 victory against Northwestern. No. 4 Hawai'i had its scheduled match against Louisiana Tech postponed until Monday when severe weather cancelled the Bulldogs' scheduled flights to Honolulu.

Jordana Price and Florida State are No. 2 in the RPI

The first edition of the official NCAA RPI came out this week. You can view it here. Below are some observations:

• It shouldn't come as a huge surprise that Texas is atop the RPI, since the Longhorns are unbeaten and eight of their victories have come against ranked teams. The more interesting thing is that two-time defending NCAA champion and current national No. 1 Penn State is not second in the RPI. Instead, the Nittany Lions - riding an NCAA-record 82-match winning streak - are third. Florida State - which is ranked 17th - is second in the RPI. The Seminoles are 15-2, with their defeats both coming in five sets - against Florida and Georgia Tech. FSU's top wins have come against Illinois, Notre Dame and Duke.
• Both Arizona and LSU also are considerably higher in the RPI than in the AVCA poll. The Wildcats are ranked 18th, but sixth in the RPI - while LSU moved into the rankings at 24th this week, but is 11th in the RPI.
• There are four teams that appear in the top 20 of the RPI but are not ranked in the AVCA poll: Michigan State (14th), Notre Dame (16th), Florida International (18th) and Tennessee (20th).
• Ohio is 24th in the RPI, but is not even receiving votes (and appearing on multiple ballots) in the AVCA poll.
• Four of the top seven teams in the RPI are from the Big Ten: No. 3 Penn State, No. 4 Illinois, No. 5 Michigan and No. 7 Minnesota.
• Hawai'i is ranked third in this week's AVCA poll, but the Rainbow Wahine are just 25th in the first RPI.
• Other teams appearing considerably lower in the RPI than in the AVCA poll include Stanford (ranked 5th; RPI of 17th), Nebraska (7th; 27th), UCLA (12th; 26th), Saint Louis (20th; 33rd), UC Irvine (21st; 54th) and San Diego (23rd; 52nd).
• If the NCAA Championship field was determined based soley on this RPI listing, and you assume that each conference's automatic bid goes to its highest-ranked team - then the last four teams to make the field as at-large participants would be Northwestern, Middle Tennessee, Georgia Tech and Miami (Fla.). The first four teams out would be Kansas, San Diego, Virginia Tech and UC Irvine.
• A field determined in that way would include nine teams each from the Big Ten and the Pac-10, as well as six from the Big 12, four each from the ACC and SEC, plus three from the Missouri Valley Conference and two each from the Atlantic 10, BIG EAST, Big West, Mountain West and Sun Belt. All other conferences would have just one participant.

Kanani Danielson and the Rainbow Wahine have their highest ranking in five years

The seventh in-season edition of the AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 was released on Monday. You can view it here. Here are a few notes:

• Big victories last weekend propelled Texas A&M (22nd) and LSU (24th) into the Top 25 this week, with both Michigan State (18th last week) and Washington State (25th) dropping out following 0-2 weekends.
• Texas A&M is in the rankings for the first time since Sept. 10, 2007, and it is the highest ranking for the Aggies since they were 20th on Sept. 19, 2005. LSU reenters the poll for the first time since Sept. 1, 2008.
• The Pac-10 still leads all conferences with seven ranked teams (all at 18th or higher), while the Big 12 boasts a season-high five squads in the rankings this week. The Big Ten has a season low of four teams in the rankings, but all of them are among the top 11. The SEC has a season-high three teams ranked while the Big West is the only other league with multiple ranked squads.
• For the seventh consecutive week, the Big Ten has three teams - No. 1 Penn State, No. 6 Minnesota and No. 10 Illinois - ranked among the top 10.
• The biggest upward movers this week were UCLA and Arizona, which both rose four spots. The Bruins are now 12th and the Wildcats are 18th, which matches a season high. The largest drop was by Long Beach State, which is down five positions to 25th.
• Penn State is No. 1 for the 31st consecutive poll - an AVCA record - since taking over the top spot on Oct. 29, 2007, while Texas has been No. 2 in every poll this season (which matches the highest ranking in program history).
• PSU received 53 first-place votes (five more than last week), while UT got seven (down two from last week). This is the first poll all season in which only two teams are receiving first-place votes - as Washington had garnered at least one in every previous edition.
• Hawai'i slid up a spot to third this week - which marks the highest ranking for the Rainbow Wahine since Dec. 6, 2004.
• Kentucky climbed two more spots to eighth, which is the highest listing for the Wildcats since Oct. 5, 1993.
• Florida State moved up two spots to 17th to match the highest ranking in program history, first done on Oct. 12, 1993, and also done two weeks ago.
• Though no teams from the Missouri Valley Conference are ranked, three league members - Northern Iowa (listed 31st), Missouri State (T-34th) and Wichita State (36th) - are receiving votes.
• Florida International is receiving votes in this week's poll, listed in a tie for 40th with nine points. It is just the second time in history that the Panthers have received votes in the AVCA poll.

The latest edition of NCAA statistics also were released on Monday. The complete listings can be found here. The Division I leaders in each category are below.

TEAM
Service Aces - Georgia State, 2.22
Assists - Texas A&M, 14.25
Blocks - Texas, 3.21
Digs - NJIT, 20.82
Hitting Percentage - Penn State, .421
Kills - Penn State, 15.07
Winning Percentage - Penn State and Texas, 1.000
INDIVIDUAL
Service Aces - Heather Meyers, Oregon, 0.70
Assists - Alisha Glass, Penn State, 12.20
Blocks - Alli Arbogast, USF, 1.69
Digs - Sabrina Baby, NJIT, 6.63
Hitting Percentage - Arielle Wilson, Penn State, .576
Kills - Yun Yi Zhang, Temple, 5.64