Photos were a little slow in crossing the Associated Press wire on Thursday, so I went back today and created photo galleries with AP images from the matches. You can view them here:

• Texas vs. Minnesota Gallery
• Penn State vs. Hawai'i Gallery

---
Five hours and 13 minutes until first serve ...

The Penn State press conference just ended here at the St. Pete Times Forum (we'll have some excerpts, a full transcript and video of it a little later), and Texas will face the media soon.

For now, though, I wanted to provide direct links to all of the video content that has been produced over the past couple of days - so you can go back and watch any that you may have missed the first time. Here you go:

• Penn State-Hawai'i Highlights
• Penn State Postmatch Press Conference
• Hawai'i Postmatch Press Conference
• Texas-Minnesota Highlights
• Texas Postmatch Press Conference
• Minnesota Postmatch Press Conference
• Penn State Feature: Winningest Senior Class
• Texas Feature: Boxing Gloves Backstory
• Minnesota Feature: Young Team With a Veteran Setter
• Hawai'i Feature: Travel Stories
• Penn State Wednesday Press Conference
• Texas Wednesday Press Conference
• Minnesota Wednesday Press Conference
• Hawai'i Wednesday Press Conference

Minnesota looked good early in the third set and built a 12-8 lead, but Texas then went on an 11-1 run and eventually won the game 25-15. The Longhorns took the match b y scores of 25-19, 25-20, 25-15, and advance to the NCAA Championship match for the first time since 1995.

I'll have a full recap soon, but for now, you can view the stats here.

Minnesota junior Hailey Cowles, a defensive specialist who moved to outside hitter midway through the season, gave the Gophers a huge lift on the outside early on in this match. She had four kills in the opening set and then pounded three more early in the second to give Minnesota an early edge. But this set - like the first - would feature plentiful sideouts and tight play for most of it. Minnesota nudged forward to an 18-16 lead, but a Gopher error gave the Longhorns the opportunity they needed. UT went on a 7-1 run to break the game open and then got consecutive kills from Destinee Hooker and Juliann Faucette to finish it off for a 25-20 victory.

Texas had 19 kills in the set on .350 hitting and got seven more kills from Hooker - who has 12 on .308 hitting through two sets. Texas' other two-time first-team All-American, setter/rightside Ashley Engle, also has been a force - recording 17 assists while helping to set the team to a .380 attack percentage and also pounding nine kills on just 14 attempts (.571). Texas libero Heather Kisner has a match-high 12 digs. Cowles leads the Gophers with eight kills.

Minnesota did rally for victory after losing the first two sets less than a month ago, eventually winning at Michigan State by scores of 23-26, 21-25, 25-20, 25-19, 15-12. Texas is 23-0 this season when taking the first two frames - but did take the first two sets in the semifinals last year by similar scores (25-20, 25-18) against Stanford before eventually falling in five.

Well, we're off - the first semifinal began with a buzz of excitement in the crowd. Early on, it looked like Texas might take over, as a pair of kills each from Jennifer Doris and Destinee Hooker put the Longhorns up 5-2. But Minnesota quickly rallied, and the middle part of the set was everything you hope for in one of these elite-level matches. The teams went back and forth - neither gaining an advantage of more than a point and battling through nine ties. The final deadlock of the set came on a right-side kill from Juliann Faucette - and that was the catalyst for a 9-2 run that put UT in control of the set. The Gophers would not get closer than within two the rest of the way, as Texas won 25-19.

The star of the opening set, not surprisingly, was two-time first-team All-American Destinee Hooker - who had seven kills on her 12 attempts (.385). The 'Horns were potent, in general, though - as Ashley Engle and Michell Kocher set them to 17 kills on just 31 attempts for a .419 attack percentage.

In this year's NCAA tournament, the team that has won the opening set has a 49-11 (.817) record.

Two Longhorns fans pose with Hook 'Em at the Fan Festival

Eager fans arrived early at the St. Pete Times Forum this afternoon to take part in the NCAA Fan Festival on the West Plaza outside of the facility. The event featured everything from a serving contest sponsored by AT&T to impromptu matches on the outdoor SportCourt set up in the shadow of the arena. Fans had the opportunity to make signs supporting their favorite team that they will be showing off during the matches tonight. Also, fans could take their photograph next to this year's NCAA championship trophy. There were trivia games, music, concessions, championship gear for sale, NCAA volleyball cornhole and the chance to win tickets to next year's championship in Kansas City. The Penn State pep band and cheerleaders and Texas volleyball band and cheerleaders also made appearances and performed for everyone.

All in all, it amounted to a lot of volleyball fans coming together and having a good time in anticipation of tonight's matches. And if you happened to miss it, I have good news for you - you can come to Saturday's Fan Festival, which will take place at the same location beginning at 5 p.m.

I snapped a few photos at today's Fan Festival. You can view them here.

The NCAA has put together a nice feature video on each of the remaining schools. They are all worth a look, and here are direct links to them:
• Penn State: Winningest Senior Class
• Texas: Boxing Gloves Backstory
• Minnesota: Young Team With a Veteran Setter
• Hawai'i: Travel Stories

By the way, in case you missed them before, here are direct links to video of yesterday's press conference:
• Penn State
• Texas
• Minnesota
• Hawai'i

Below is a side-by-side comparison of the teams that will face each other in the first semifinal on Thursday: Texas and Minnesota. This will be just the third all-time meeting between the schools. The Gophers won the most-recent match, in five sets (15-12, 15-8, 10-15, 7-15, 15-9), on Sept. 3, 1995, in Honolulu. The Longhorns took the first matchup between the schools in four (15-12, 13-15, 15-10, 15-8) in Austin on Oct. 9, 1981.

Stephanie Brandt of Hawai'i was honored with the NCAA's Elite 88 Award

The travel parties of the four teams attended the championship banquet on Wednesday evening. Instead of taking place in a hotel ballroom or similar setting, this event came in the form of a dinner cruise of the Tampa Bay on Tampa's Yacht Starship. On a perfect evening for sailing, the student-athletes were treated to a ride on a beautiful yacht covered with Christmas decorations (see below for a gallery of images). They enjoyed salad and appetizers before feasting on a main course of glazed ham, pasta and roast breast of chicken in mango-jerk sauce. A chocolate chambord cake capped off the meal.

The atmosphere was one of congratulations, as the student-athletes were repeatedly recognized for advancing to the semifinals of the NCAA Championship. There was a video package accompanied by musical soundtrack that highlighted the road to Tampa for all four teams - and among the speakers were all four head coaches, who gave quick, but humorous, speeches. After dinner, many of the players moved up to the top level of the yacht to break out some dance moves and enjoy a beautiful view of the city's skyline.

One major award was given out at the banquet: the Elite 88 award - which is a new NCAA award that recognizes the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average that is on one of the teams at the final championship venue in each of the NCAA's 88 championships. The first Division I women's volleyball recipient of that honor is Hawai'i senior setter Stephanie Brandt. Also honored for having the top GPAs on their respective teams were Jessica Granquist (Minnesota), Heather Kisner (Texas) and Heather Tice (Penn State).

I took a few photos during the banquet that you can view here.

Juliann Faucette, Ashley Engle and Jerritt Elliott from Texas

Minnesota's Lauren Gibbemeyer and Mike Hebert

All of the teams sent their head coach and a few players to answer some questions from the national media today at the St. Pete Times Forum. Below are a few excerpts from the press conferences with Texas and Minnesota - who will square off on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2 in the semifinals. The full transcripts from the press conferences will appear soon on NCAA.com's championship central page - which also has a lot of other great information.

Texas Head Coach Jerritt Elliott
On What It Takes to Get to the Final Four
"The way you manager the student-athlete and all of the players, 1 through 12 or 1 through 15, is the key component to making sure that everybody is happy and that they understand the goals and understand the philosophies and are committed to what they are doing on a daily basis."

On the Penn State-Hawai'i Match
"The key component is that Hawai'i is going to have to really win the serve-and-pass game, I believe, and they are going to have to frustrate Penn State with their defense and transition game. It's going to be a fun match to watch."

On Penn State's 100-match Winning Streak
"It's incredible! ... What (Penn State coach) Russ (Rose) has done has really brought a lot of attention to our sport. ... Having him (Rose) on ESPN and the New York Times is something that we need for our sport."

Texas Setter Ashley Engle
On the Team's Improvement
"We are so versatile and we have so many options on the outside, setting 6-2 or 5-1. ... Everyone wants to be on the court, and it's a very competitive (practice) gym. That, in itself, will help a team improve when we are battling every day for a spot on the floor."

Minnesota Head Coach Mike Hebert
On His Team's Progression
"We didn't start out in August with the idea that we had all the parts and the ingredients necessary to make it (to the semifinals). Over the course of the season, one-by-one, all those parts got put together and fell nicely into place over the past month."

On Playing Texas
"For us to be able to compete with Texas, we have to be extremely good with the serve and pass game. ... We have to be a very good serving team tomorrow night and try to keep them out of system. In addition to that, I think we are going to have to play great defense. The equalizer in our game is usually serving and defense. ... Defense is what is probably going to keep us in the match tomorrow night."

On Potentially Playing former UCSB Classmate Dave Shoji and Hawai'i in the Final
"After Dave won his match on Saturday night, I got a text from him that said, 'Old guys rule.' I suppose that (if we played in the final), what we would say to each other is, 'Let's show the youngsters how to do it.' I think Dave and I would enjoy that very much."

Minnesota Libero Christine Tan
On Flying Under the Radar
"I think we are the wild card team. But it's an advantage to us, and I like being the underdog. We have all the parts right now to be successful, and our team's really come together at the perfect time."

Penn State runs through some drills

Hawai'i practices serving

Hawai'i is now on the floor for its open practice - the last of the day - after Penn State finished up a short time ago. All of the press conferences are done for the day, as well - and I'll have a couple of posts with good quotes from them coming up soon. The Nittany Lions are now off to meet with the ESPN folks to fulfill their final responsibilities of the day. Minnesota and Texas - who will play in the first match tomorrow - already have completed their official activities today.

Penn State and Hawai'i are both looking to make history this week. The Nittany Lions - winners of 100 straight matches - are seeking to become the first women's volleyball team ever to win three consecutive NCAA championships. All five previous squads that tried to string together a third title after successfully winning two in a row have failed. The team that came the closest was UCLA - which lost to Stanford in the 1992 championship match after winning it all in both 1990 and '91. The Rainbow Wahine could become the lowest-seeded team ever to win the NCAA title. That distinction currently belongs to Stanford, which was the 11th overall seed when claiming the 2004 title.

Penn State's Megan Hodge is the fifth player ever to be a four-time first-team AVCA All-American

The AVCA announced its All-America teams today, with 42 student-athletes (three teams of 14) being recognized as All-Americans (full listing here). Highlighting the announcement is Penn State senior outside hitter Megan Hodge, who became just the fifth player in Division I history to be selected to the AVCA All-America First Team on four occasions. That pantheon of stars features a Stanford trio - Bev Oden (1989-92), Kerri Walsh (1996-99) and Logan Tom (1999-2002) - plus Nebraska's Sarah Pavan (2004-07), and now Hodge.

Here are some other notes about the selections:
• Four other players were tabbed first-team All-Americans for the second year in a row: Cal senior outside hitter Hana Cutura, Penn State senior setter Alisha Glass and the Texas senior duo of setter/hitter Ashley Engle and outside hitter Destinee Hooker.
• PSU had four selections on the first team (Hodge, Glass and juniors Blair Brown and Arielle Wilson), while Texas was the only other school to have more than one.
• Hawai'i outside hitter Kanani Danielson is the only sophomore on the first team.
• Junior libero Ashley Mass - the only primarily defensive player on the first team - gives Iowa State its first-ever AVCA first-team All-American, while junior setter Lexi Zimmerman is Michigan's first first-team honoree.
• Junior setter/hitter Cassidy Lichtman became the 40th Stanford player to be tabbed an AVCA first-team All-American. No school has had more honorees (Nebraska is next at 37).
• No freshman was tabbed an All-American this year (though nine were listed as honorable mention), but UCLA setter Lauren Cook was recognized as the AVCA Freshman of the Year.
• Seniors Brianna Barry (Florida State) and Rachel Rourke (Oregon State) were both tabbed to the All-America second team to become the first AVCA All-Americans in the history of their respective programs.
• Juniors Lindsay Fletemier (Dayton) and Ashley Benson (Indiana) also became the first AVCA All-Americans ever for their schools - having both been third-team selections.

We'll be able to watch many of the players earning All-America recognition on the court this week. Here are the players from the remaining teams that earned AVCA mention:
• PENN STATE - Blair Brown (1st team, Jr., RS/OPP); Alisha Glass (1st, Sr., S); Megan Hodge (1st, Sr., OH); Arielle Wilson (1st, Jr., MB); Darcy Dorton (honorable mention, Fr., OH)
• HAWAI'I - Kanani Danielson (1st team, So., OH); Aneli Cubi-Otineru (3rd, Sr., OH); Amber Kaufman (honorable mention, Sr., MB); Dani Mafua (honorable mention, Jr., S)
• MINNESOTA - Lauren Gibbemeyer (1st team, Jr., MB); Taylor Carico (3rd, Sr., S)
• TEXAS - Ashley Engle (1st team, Sr., S/H); Destinee Hooker (1st, Sr., OH); Juliann Faucette (3rd, Jr., OH)

Texas was the first team on the practice floor

Minnesota warming up

Now that the participants have arrived in Tampa, today they'll all head to the championship venue, the St. Pete Times Forum - which also serves as the home of the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning (who are in the midst of a six-game road trip to accommodate this event). Wednesday brings the first opportunity for fans in Tampa to take an in-person look at the four teams remaining in the tournament. On the docket for each team is a 90-minute practice that is open to the public, as well as an hour-long session with ESPN2 that involves interviews and filming video head shots. Plus, the head coach and a few players from each team will answer questions from the media. Select quotes from that session will be available later on ncaa.com - and I'll highlight a few of them here, as well.

The first team to hit the practice floor today was second-seeded Texas, while the Longhorns' next opponent - 11th-seeded Minnesota - took care of their ESPN responsibilities first and then followed UT onto the practice floor (while the Longhorns then headed over to meet with the television folks). The Gophers, incidentally, are trying to make some history this week. The lowest-seeded team ever to win the NCAA Women's volleyball title was Stanford in 2004, when the Cardinal was the No. 11 overall seed. Minnesota is seeded 11th this season. Among those on hand for all of this are Beth Mowins and volleyball Hall of Famer Karch Kiraly - who will provide play-by-play and analysis on ESPN2 for the matches this week.

Here are a couple of photos from the first two open practices. The two-time defending NCAA champion Penn State Nittany Lions will hit the practice floor from 1:20-2:50 p.m. ET, while third-ranked Hawai'i practices from 2:55-4:25 p.m.

Tabitha Love and Minnesota gave the Big Ten a pair of final four teams for the first time since 1994

Saturday's all-day, nationally-televised volleyball extravaganza determined finally which four teams will head to Tampa next week for the final two rounds of the NCAA Championship. The quarterfinals were compelling, if not exceedingly competitive - and they have set up a championship weekend that promises some of the matchups we've been hoping for all season. That's because, after 60 matches, the field for Tampa includes the three teams that have occupied the top three spots of the AVCA poll since Oct. 12 - Penn State, Texas and Hawai'i. They will be joined by 13th-ranked and 11th-seeded Minnesota, a team that has gotten hot at the right time of the season, beating four ranked teams on its current seven-match winning streak.

Saturday's first match went as we've come to expect every match involving Penn State to go. The top-seeded Nittany Lions flexed their muscle once again en route to defeating ninth-seeded California 25-18, 25-17, 25-22 and advancing to the semifinals for the third straight year and eighth time overall. It was the 100th consecutive victory for PSU - the second longest NCAA Division I streak in any sport (the University of Miami's men's tennis team won 137 in a row from 1957-64) - and the third consecutive year that Cal's season was ended by the Nittany Lions. PSU senior outside hitter Megan Hodge, the regional's Most Outstanding Player, led the way with 14 kills on .429 hitting. Penn State head coach Russ Rose earned his 999th career victory as a head coach and will look to become just the third DI coach (along with UCLA's Andy Banachowski and Hawai'i's Dave Shoji) to win 1,000 matches. Cal senior outside hitter Hana Cutura finished her career with a match-high 16 kills.

Minnesota became the only regional host to advance through this year after knocking off third-seeded Florida State 25-20, 25-7, 18-25, 25-17 in the quarterfinals. Freshman outside hitter Tabitha Love had a match-high 21 kills on .370 hitting to lead the Gophers to their first four appearance since 2004 (and third overall). Minnesota also used 73 digs and eight blocks to hold the Seminoles - who had won 19 in a row - to .179 hitting. Senior libero Christine Tan led that effort with 24 digs. Love was named the regional's top player after averaging 5.38 kills per set on .402 hitting in the two matches.

A crowd of 9,253 showed up in the final of the "Big 12" regional in Omaha to watch 10th-seeded Nebraska try to knock off second-seeded Texas, and the Huskers rode that energy to an opening-set win, but the Longhorns would then take control and post a 21-25, 25-18, 25-16, 25-17 victory. UT senior outside hitter Destinee Hooker, the regional's Most Outstanding Player, led the way with 18 kills on .350 hitting, while Ashley Engle and Michelle Kocher set the Longhorns to a .342 team mark. Texas, which reached the semifinals for the second year in a row, became the first team to beat Nebraska three times in the same season since the inception of NCAA women's volleyball in 1981. The loss by the Cornhuskers means that this will be just the third time ever that the volleyball final four does not feature at least one of the three winningest programs in the history of the tournament (Stanford, Nebraska and UCLA). The only other times that none of that trio has been in the semifinals were 1993 and 2003.

In the last quarterfinal match, third-ranked Hawai'i - which garnered just the No. 12 seed in the tournament due to a relatively-low RPI - swept 13th-seeded Michigan 25-23, 25-19, 25-18 in Stanford, Calif. The Rainbow Wahine were led again by sophomore outside hitter Kananai Danielson - who was named the regional's top player - with 11 kills and four digs, while Michigan sophomore rightside Alex Hunt had a match-high 13 kills on .394 hitting. Hawai'i, now winners of 27 in a row, overcame a very difficult draw to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2003 and ninth time overall. The Rainbow Wahine had to travel to Los Angeles for the opening weekend and were forced to defeat 15th-ranked (but unseeded) USC on the Trojans' home floor in the second round before facing fifth-seeded and eighth-ranked Illinois in the round of 16.

Tampa could be the venue of history if Penn State becomes the first volleyball team ever to win a third consecutive national title. But the 2009 final four is guaranteed to be historic even if that doesn't happen. The NCAA first sponsored a women's volleyball national championship in 1981, and the old AIAW did so before that, dating back to 1970. During that entire time, every national championship tournament at the highest level of competition (Division I, Large College, etc.) has featured at least one team from California in the semifinals ... until now. Seven teams from the Golden State qualified for this year's tournament, and three were top-10 seeds. But only a pair - Stanford and Cal - reached the second weekend. The Cardinal was upset in the round of 16, and the Golden Bears were the latest victim of the Nittany Lions' NCAA-record string of victories - leaving this year's final four without a team from California - which has seen its teams claim 25 national championships (17 NCAA, 8 AIAW) and lose in the titl match on 22 occasions (16 NCAA, 6 AIAW).

(Note that the AIAW did still sponsor a national tournament in 1981 that was open to teams that had not begun NCAA play in women's volleyball, and that tournament - won by Texas - did not feature a California team in the semifinals. The main reason for that was that most California teams had already jumped to the NCAA - as evidenced by the fact that the first NCAA women's volleyball championship, in 1981, featured not only four California teams in the final four, but seven among the quarterfinalists.)

The semifinals are set for Thursday, Dec. 17, in Tampa. No. 1 Penn State will take on third-ranked and 12th-seeded Hawai'i, while No. 2 Texas will face 11th-seeded and 13th-ranked Minnesota. Both matches - scheduled to begin at 7 and 9 p.m. ET (though the order of the matches has yet to be determined) - will be televised live by ESPN2. The championship match will be played on Saturday, Dec. 19, at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2. For details on every match of the tournament, check out NCAA.com's interactive bracket.

We'll have extensive coverage of all of the activities in Tampa right here on the NCAA.com women's volleyball blog. So check back throughout the week for notes, extensive previews and updates on what's going on at the final four.

CONFERENCE UPDATE
With just four teams remaining, the Big Ten is the only conference with multiple squads still alive to win the NCAA title this season. It's the first time since 1994 (Ohio State and Penn State) that two Big Ten teams among the final four. The Big 12 has a representative in the semifinals for the fourth time in the last five seasons (all but 2007), while the WAC has one of the last four for the first time since 2003 (and sixth time overall). One of the most-noteworthy aspects of this year's final four, though will be who is NOT there. This will be just the third final four (out of 29) - and first since 1998 - that does not feature a Pac-10 team.

Below are the records for teams from each conference in this year's tournament (minimum two tournament qualifiers or one tournament win):
Western Athletic (1 team): 4-0, 1.000, 1 left (Hawai'i)
Big Ten (6 teams): 14-4, .778, 2 left (Minnesota, Penn State)
Big 12 (6 teams): 13-5, .722, 1 left (Texas)
Southeastern (4 teams): 6-4, .600, 0 left
Pac-10 (8 teams): 9-8, .529, 0 left
Mountain West (3 teams): 3-3, .500, 0 left
Missouri Valley (2 teams): 2-2, .500, 0 left
Ivy League (1 team): 1-1, .500, 0 left
Mid-American (1 team): 1-1, .500, 0 left
Ohio Valley (1 team): 1-1, .500, 0 left
West Coast (1 team): 1-1, .500, 0 left
Atlantic Coast (5 teams): 3-5, .375, 0 left
Atlantic 10 (2 teams): 1-2, .333, 0 left
Sun Belt (2 teams): 1-2, .333, 0 left
Big West (2 teams): 0-2, .000, 0 left
Conference USA (2 teams): 0-2, .000, 0 left
BIG EAST (3 teams): 0-3, .000, 0 left

Lexi Zimmerman and Michigan advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time

Round-of-16 Friday had a little bit of everything, from convincing sweeps for a few teams to a great five-setter and three lower-seeded teams that got it done. After the dust settled, we were down to just eight teams remaining, with all of the top three seeds advancing through to be joined by five teams seeded between Nos. 9-13.

The Stanford regional produced the most surprising results, as both lower-seeded squads prevailed. Michigan, the No. 13 seed, knocked off the host and fourth-seeded Cardinal 25-18, 23-25, 25-22, 25-11 to advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament for the first time ever. Lexi Zimmerman set the Wolverines to 65 kills (16.25 per set) and a .358 hitting mark and added 10 kills on .500 hitting and eight digs. Alex Hunt posted 18 kills on .368 hitting and 14 digs for the Wolverines. Stanford had played in each of the last three NCAA championship matches and has qualified for 18 of the 28 final fours. The other match at Stanford saw 12th-seeded (but third-ranked) Hawai'i earn a measure of vindication with a 21-25, 25-10, 27-25, 25-16 win over fifth-seeded (and eighth-ranked) Illinois. Kanani Danielson led the Wahine with a match-high 21 kills and 13 digs, while Stephanie Ferrell had 19 kills on .412 hitting.

In the "Big 12" regional in Omaha, 10th-seeded Nebraska fed of a crowd of 8,935 supporters to sweep seventh-seeded Iowa State 25-11, 25-19, 25-22. Sydney Anderson led a blanaced Huskers attack that made just 10 errors, hit .324 and had four players with nine or more kills. But the big story was NU's defense - which held Iowa State to a .096 hitting mark. Kayla Banwarth paced that effort with 15 digs. Texas cruised past Texas A&M (25-18, 25-18, 25-21) in the other match in Omaha, as Destinee Hooker pounded 23 kills on .465 hitting to go with seven digs and five blocks in the three-set affair.

The lone match on Friday that went the distance saw third-seeded Florida State eventually prevail over Kentucky by scores of 16-25, 26-24, 25-17, 19-25, 17-15. Rachel Morgan led the Seminoles with 15 kills, while Jenna Romanelli posted a match-best 25 digs for the Seminoles - who had been just 1-11 in the NCAA tournament prior to this season. The host of that regional, 11th-seeded Minnesota, had 101 digs en route to beating Colorado State 25-22, 29-27, 23-25, 25-18. Freshman Tabitha Love led the offense with 22 kills on .439 hitting, while Jessica Granquist notched a match-high 21 digs.

Top-seeded Penn State had to play a true road match against Florida, but was hardly challenged in winning 25-12, 25-18, 25-21 over the 16th-seeded Gators. Megan Hodge had 20 kills on .366 hitting and 10 digs for the Lions. Ninth-seeded Cal won the other match in Gainesville, topping Baylor 26-24, 25-20, 25-17 behind 18 kills on .362 hitting from Hana Cutura.

CONFERENCE UPDATE
The balance of power among the top conferences has shifted once again. The Pac-10 appeared to be the class of the country throughout most of the regular season, having as much as 80% of its membership ranked at a single time en route to getting eight teams in the tournament. But after the opening weekend, it was the Big 12 that led all leagues with five squads remaining (including a pair of unseeded teams that upset seeded opponents on their home floors. Now, as we refocus again on which conference has produced the most elite teams this season, we find that three of the final eight teams - Penn State, Minnesota and Michigan - are from the Big Ten.

Below are the records for teams from each conference in this year's tournament (minimum two tournament qualifiers or one tournament win):
Western Athletic (1 team): 3-0, 1.000, 1 left (Hawai'i)
Big Ten (6 teams): 12-3, .800, 3 left (Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State)
Big 12 (6 teams): 12-4, .750, 2 left (Nebraska, Texas)
Southeastern (4 teams): 6-4, .600, 0 left
Pac-10 (8 teams): 9-7, .563, 1 left (California)
Mountain West (3 teams): 3-3, .500, 0 left
Missouri Valley (2 teams): 2-2, .500, 0 left
Ivy League (1 team): 1-1, .500, 0 left
Mid-American (1 team): 1-1, .500, 0 left
Ohio Valley (1 team): 1-1, .500, 0 left
West Coast (1 team): 1-1, .500, 0 left
Atlantic Coast (5 teams): 3-4, .429, 1 left (Florida State)
Atlantic 10 (2 teams): 1-2, .333, 0 left
Sun Belt (2 teams): 1-2, .333, 0 left
Big West (2 teams): 0-2, .000, 0 left
Conference USA (2 teams): 0-2, .000, 0 left
BIG EAST (3 teams): 0-3, .000, 0 left

Today we'll find out which teams will head to Tampa next week for the final four. All four NCAA quarterfinals will be televised live by ESPNU (click here to see what channel it is for you), beginning at 4 p.m. ET. As always, NCAA.com's interactive bracket has complete coverage of every matchup.

(1) PENN STATE VS. (9) CALIFORNIA
Quarterfinals - Gainesville, Florida - 4 p.m. ET - ESPNU
Nittany Lions Basics: 35-0, 20-0 Big Ten (1st), 2nd in RPI, 1st in AVCA poll, won NCAA-record 99 in a row (since losing to Stanford on 9/5/07 in New Haven, Conn.), 4-0 at neutral sites (won 13 in a row), 63-25 all-time in NCAAs, including seven final fours and titles in 1999, 2007 and '08 (appeared in all 29 tournaments), defeated Binghamton (25-9, 25-13, 25-14) in first round at home, Penn (25-20, 25-17, 25-16) in the second round at home and 16th-seeded Florida (25-12, 25-18, 25-21) in the round of 16 on the Gators' home floor
Golden Bears Basics: 21-10, 11-7 Pac-10 (4th), 8th in RPI, 10th in AVCA poll, 9-2 in last 11, 4-3 at neutral sites, 10-8 away from home, 20-12 all-time in NCAAs, including a trip to the 2007 final four (8th consecutive appearance; 13th overall), defeated Lipscomb (25-15, 25-22, 25-9) in the first round, Ohio State (25-13, 18-25, 25-23, 25-20) in the second round on the Buckeyes' home floor and Baylor (26-24, 25-20, 25-17) in the round of 16
The Series: Penn State leads 2-0, with both previous meetings coming in the last two NCAA tournaments. PSU won 30-28, 30-25, 30-16 in the 2007 NCAA quarterfinals and prevailed 25-21, 25-21, 25-17 in the '08 round of 16.
Common Opponents: 2-Ohio State and Saint Louis. Penn State is 3-0 (beat OSU 3-1 in Columbus on Oct. 7 and 3-0 at home on Oct. 28; beat SLU 3-0 in St. Louis on Aug. 29). Cal is 1-0 (beat OSU 3-1 in Columbus on Dec. 5 in the NCAA second round; lost 3-0 to SLU on Sept. 5 in Honolulu)
Notes: This is a matchup of two of the three teams with the highest hitting percentages thus far in this year's tournament. Penn State is first at .434, while Cal is third at .378. The Nittany Lions also ranks third in points per set (19.8) in this year's tournament, as well as second in aces (1.6) and fifth in blocks (3.1). PSU senior outside hitter Megan Hodge is a three-time first-team All-American, while senior setter Alisha Glass is a two-time All-American (1st team in '08) and juniors Blair Brown and Arielle Wilson were second-team All-Americans last season. Hodge, the Big Ten Player of the Year in 2006 and '09, also was selected as the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American of the Year. PSU outside hitter Darcy Dorton is the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Penn State leads the nation in hitting percentage (.393) and ranks second in blocking (3.26) and eighth in both assists (13.71) and kills (14.71). Wilson leads the country in hitting percentage (.561) and is second in blocks (1.58). Hodge ranks eighth in kills (4.70) and hitting percentage (.399) and 11th in points (5.17) - while Glass is sixth in assists (11.94) after being first a year ago. Hodge, Glass, Wilson, Dorton and sophomore Blair Brown are AVCA All-Mideast Region honorees. Cal senior outside hitter Hana Cutura, a first-team All-American last year and this year's Pac-10 Player of the Year, has the highest season kill average of any player in this year's tournament (5.12; 3rd overall) and is second in points (5.63; 4th overall). She was named to the AVCA All-Pacific Region team for the third straight year, while junior setter Carli Lloyd - a second-team All-American in 2008 - is an all-region pick for the second year in a row. Cal's Mindi Wiley is tied for first among all remaining players - along with Texas' Destinee Hooker and PSU's Arielle Wilson - in hitting percentage in this year's tournament (.526; T-3rd overall). Cutura ranks second among all players in the tournament in kills (57) and third in points (63.0). As a team, Cal ranks second in the tournament in blocks (3.3).

(3) FLORIDA STATE AT (11) MINNESOTA
Quarterfinals - Minneapolis, Minnesota - 6:30 p.m. ET - ESPNU
Seminoles Basics: 31-2, 19-1 ACC (1st), 3rd in RPI, 12th in AVCA poll, won 19 in a row, 11-1 in true road matches, 15-1 away from home, 4-11 all-time in NCAAs (1st appearance since 2002; 12th overall), defeated Alabama A&M (25-10, 25-19, 25-10) at home in first round, Jacksonville State (25-18, 26-24, 25-22) at home in the second round and Kentucky (16-25, 26-24, 25-17, 19-25, 17-15) in the round of 16
Gophers Basics: 27-8, 15-5 Big Ten (3rd), 13th in RPI, 13th in AVCA poll, 10-1 in last 11, 13-1 at home, 29-14 all-time in NCAAs, including two final fours (11th appearance in a row; 15th overall), defeated Louisville (25-20, 24-26, 26-24, 25-22) in the first round, Tennessee (25-15, 25-16, 25-18) in the second round on the Lady Vols' home floor and Colorado State (25-22, 29-27, 23-25, 25-18) at home in the round of 16
The Series: Minnesota leads 8-5.
Common Opponents: 2-Georgia Tech and Illinois. FSU is 2-1 (lost 3-2 to Georgia Tech at home on Oct. 2 and won 3-0 in Atlanta on Nov. 14; beat Illinois 3-0 in Las Cruces, N.M., on Sept. 4). Minnesota is 2-1 (beat Georgia Tech 3-1 in Denver on Sept. 19; lost Illinois 3-0 in Champaign on Oct. 16 and beat the Illini 3-0 at home on Nov. 28). Notes: FSU senior middle blocker Brianna Barry, the ACC Player of the Year, ranks second in the nation in hitting percentage (.511). The Seminoles are fourth in Division I in both team hitting percentage (.307) and third in winning percentage (.938). Senior Mira Djuric is tops among all players in the tournament in season ace average (0.57; 6th overall) and in aces in the tournament (9). FSU is averaging 1.6 aces per set in the tournament - which ranks third among all teams. Jordana Price has five solo blocks in the tournament - which is tied for the most among all players - and Barry has four. Minnesota is third among remaining teams in blocking (2.78; 11th overall). Minnesota junior Lauren Gibbemeyer, a third-team All-American last year, is among the national leaders in four categories: blocks (7th; 1.50), hitting percentage (9th; .398), points (82nd; 4.25) and kills (161st; 3.32). Junior Hailey Cowles was a second-team All-American last year, while junior Christine Tan was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in '08. The Gophers are averaging 17.3 kills per set, 20.3 digs, 16.3 assists and 21.1 points per set in the tournament - all of those are tops among all teams. Taylor Carico has 146 assists in the tournament, which is more than any other player.

(2) TEXAS AT (10) NEBRASKA
Quarterfinals - Omaha, Nebraska - 9 p.m. ET - ESPNU
Longhorns Basics: 27-1, 19-1 Big 12 (1st), 1st in RPI, 2nd in AVCA poll, won 9 in a row, 4-0 at neutral sites, 15-1 away from home, 56-24 all-time in NCAAs, including five final fours and the 1988 title (6th appearance in a row; 26th overall), defeated Texas State (25-16, 25-14, 25-14) at home in the first round, TCU (25-15, 25-14, 25-18) at home in the second round and Texas A&M (25-18, 25-18, 25-21) in the round of 16
Cornhuskers Basics: 26-6, 16-4 Big 12 (3rd), 10th in RPI, 10th in AVCA poll, won 10 in a row (4 vs. ranked teams), 4-1 at neutral sites, 2-1 in Omaha, 80-24 all-time in NCAAs, including 11 final fours and titles in 1995, 2000 and '06 (28th consecutive appearance), defeated Coastal Carolina (25-13, 25-18, 25-15) at home in the first round, Northern Iowa (25-14, 25-17, 25-21) at home in the second round and seventh-seeded Iowa State (25-11, 25-19, 25-22) in the round of 16
The Series: Nebraska leads 29-15, but Texas has won the last three
2009 Meetings: Texas won 25-22, 18-25, 25-17, 25-17 in Lincoln on Sept. 26 to snap Nebraska's 82-match winning streak at the NU Coliseum. Texas won 25-22, 26-24, 25-19 in Austin on Oct. 30.
Notes: Texas is trying to become the first team to beat Nebraska three times in a season since the inception of NCAA volleyball in 1981. 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. Hooker, senior setter/opposite hitter Ashley Engle and junior outside hitter/opposite Juliann Faucette are AVCA all-Central Region selections. Hooker is first among players in the tournament in season point average (5.90; 3rd overall in DI), as well as second in season kill average (4.88; 5th overall). Texas ranks second to Penn State among all DI teams in hitting percentage (.339) and winning percentage (.963), as well as second to PSU among remaining teams in blocks (3.04; 5th overall). In this year's tournament, Texas ranks second among all teams in blocking (3.2) and points per set (20.2), as well as fourth in hitting percentage (.399) and kills per set (15.7). In NCAA tournament play, Nebraska is tops among all remaining teams in dig average (18.2), as well as fifth among all teams in points per set (19.4) and third in kill average (15.8). NU's Kayla Banwarth has 58 digs in the tournament - which is second-most among all players. Nebraska senior Kori Cooper has been a first-team Academic All-American in both of the last two seasons. Nebraska junior setter Sydney Anderson and junior outside hitter Tara Mueller were second-team All-Americans last year. Anderson ranks 12th in Division I in assists this season (11.57). Outside hitter Hannah Werth is the Big 12 Freshman of the Year. As a team, the Huskers are 9th in assists (13.71) and 9th in kills (14.70).

(12) HAWAI'I VS. (13) MICHIGAN
Quarterfinals - Stanford, California - 11:30 p.m. ET - ESPNU
Rainbow Wahine Basics: 31-2, 16-0 WAC (1st), WAC tournament champion, 22nd in RPI, 3rd in AVCA poll, won 27 in a row, 4-0 at neutral sites, 13-0 away from home, 68-24 all-time in NCAAs, including eight final fours and titles in 1982, '83 and '87 (17th consecutive appearance; 28th overall), defeated New Mexico (25-22, 25-16, 25-21) in the first round, USC (25-20, 25-18, 16-25, 27-25) in the second round on the Trojans' home floor and Illinois (21-25, 25-10, 27-25, 25-16) in the round of 16
Wolverines Basics: 27-9, 12-8 Big Ten (T-4th), 9th in RPI, 16th in AVCA poll, 8-2 in last 10, 4-0 at neutral sites, 12-5 away from home, 12-9 all-time in NCAAs (4th consecutive appearance; 10th overall), defeated Niagara (25-4, 25-12, 25-15) at home in the first round, Ohio (30-32, 24-26, 25-13, 25-20, 15-13) at home in the second round and fourth-seeded Stanford (25-18, 23-25, 25-22, 25-11) in the round of 16
The Series: Hawai'i leads 2-1, but Michigan won the most-recent meeting (30-14, 30-28, 22-30, 27-30, 18-16 in Honolulu on 8/24/07)
Common Opponents: 2-Illinois and Stanford. Hawai'i is 2-0 (beat Illinois 3-1 at Stanford on Dec. 11 in NCAA round of 16; beat Stanford 3-0 at home on Sept. 12). Michigan is 1-2 (lost 3-2 to Illinois on Oct. 3 in Ann Arbor and lost 3-1 to Illinois on Nov. 6 in Champaignbeat Stanford 3-0 on Dec. 11 at Stanford in NCAA round of 16)
Notes: Hawai'i is among the national top 16 in five statistical categories: 3rd in hitting percentage (.316) and winning percentage (.938), 11th in kills (14.61), 12th in assists (13.58) and 16th in aces (1.73). Individually, Amber Kaufman is fourth in Division I in hitting percentage (.434), Dani Mafua is 11th in assists (11.78) and Aneli Cubi-Otineru is among the national leaders in four categories, including 11th in service aces (0.50). Kanani Danielson is the WAC Player of the Year, while Brittany Hewitt is the WAC Freshman of the Year. Danielson leads all players in this year's tournament in points (66) and kills (61). Hewitt leads all players with 19 blocks in this year's tournament. U-M ranks among the top 45 in the nation in five statistical categories, including 31st in kills (13.94). Michigan setter Lexi Zimmerman was a second-team All-American last year. Veronica Rood has five solo blocks in this year's tournament - which is tied for the most by any player.

Fatma Yildirim and Florida State are in the round of 16 for the first time

The final spot in the round of 16 will be filled by third-seeded Florida State, after the Seminoles beat Jacksonville State 25-18, 26-24, 25-22 on Sunday in the only match of the tournament. It was a match full of great offense, as senior Nikki Baker and freshman Duygu Duzceler led Florida State to 48 kills on .408 hitting, and JSU had 50 kills on .345 hitting behind the setting of junior Brooke Schumacher. But FSU won the key points to become the first ACC team to reach the round of 16 since Georgia Tech did so in 2004. It's the first trip to that round ever for the 'Noles - who came into this year with a 1-11 all-time record in the tournament.

So as it turned out, 12 seeded teams and four unseeded squads (Baylor, Colorado State, Kentucky and Texas A&M) made it through the opening weekend. Eleven teams that hosted action this weekend made it through, while five teams that had to travel - No. 9 California, No. 11 Minnesota, No. 12 Hawai'i, Baylor and Texas A&M - advanced through. All four teams that had the opportunity to play on their home courts in the regionals - No. 4 Stanford, No. 10 Nebraska (regional is in Omaha, where the Huskers play select home matches), No. 11 Minnesota at No. 16 Florida - were able to advance through. All of the third-round matches will take place on Friday, Dec. 11, though none of the match times have yet been announced. The quarterfinals will all be on Saturday, Dec. 12 and be televised by ESPNU.

For more details on every match of the tournament, check out the interactive bracket - which also will feature match times for the round-of-16 contests once they have been released.

CONFERENCE UPDATE
Through two rounds, the Big 12 leads the way with five teams remaining (out of its six qualifiers), which marks the most teams in the final 16 for the conference since it was established in 1996. The Big Ten is next with four teams remaining - while the Pac-10 and SEC have two each. It's the first time since 2005 (Florida, Tennessee) that the SEC has had multiple teams in the third round and the first time the ACC has seen any of its teams reach the second weekend since 2004 (Georgia Tech).

Of particular note is the fact that the Pac-10 has just two teams remaining. The league has traditionally had the most success of any conference in the NCAA tournament. Pac-10 squads have won 13 national titles (including 11 of the last 19), and 22 of the 28 NCAA championship matches have featured at least one Pac-10 team. Additionally, three of the last five final fours have featured a trio of Pac-10 squads. This had the look of one of the best seasons ever for the league, as it had as many as eight teams in the AVCA poll during the season and got all but two of its members into the tournament (which tied the league record for most in a season, first done in 2002). The Pac-10 had five seeded teams and one more that was unseeded, but still got to host in the opening weekend. But two conference squads - Arizona and Washington State - fell in the opening round, which - amazingly - matched the league's total number of first-round defeats over the past seven years (43-2 record in that span). Then the second round saw three seeded teams - No. 6 Washington, No. 8 UCLA and No. 14 Oregon - and an unseeded host, USC, lose.

Below are the records for teams from each conference in this year's tournament (minimum two tournament qualifiers or one tournament win):
Western Athletic (1 team): 2-0, 1.000, 1 left (Hawai'i)
Big 12 (6 teams): 10-1, .909, 5 left (Baylor, Iowa State, Nebraska, Texas, Texas A&M)
Big Ten (6 teams): 9-2, .818, 4 left (Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State)
Southeastern (4 teams): 6-2, .750, 2 left (Florida, Kentucky)
Mountain West (3 teams): 3-2, .600, 1 left (Colorado State)
Pac-10 (8 teams): 8-6, .571, 2 left (California, Stanford)
Missouri Valley (2 teams): 2-2, .500, 0 left
Ivy League (1 team): 1-1, .500, 0 left
Mid-American (1 team): 1-1, .500, 0 left
Ohio Valley (1 team): 1-1, .500, 0 left
West Coast (1 team): 1-1, .500, 0 left
Atlantic Coast (5 teams): 2-4, .333, 1 left (Florida State)
Atlantic 10 (2 teams): 1-2, .333, 0 left
Sun Belt (2 teams): 1-2, .333, 0 left
Big West (2 teams): 0-2, .000, 0 left
Conference USA (2 teams): 0-2, .000, 0 left
BIG EAST (3 teams): 0-3, .000, 0 left

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.

Northern Colorado will make its first-ever trip to an NCAA Division I Championship

It's finally here - the day we've all waited for since the summer. The 64-team field for the 2009 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship will be announced live today at 3 p.m. ET on ESPNews.

Today I review yesterday's action, take a look at the situation for at-large qualifiers and provide the final table of automatic qualifiers. But before all of that, here are a few burning questions I have, heading into the selection show:

• Penn State and Texas have been atop the college volleyball world all season, but who will be the other two teams to earn top-four seeds and, whereby, get shielded from facing the Nittany Lions or Longhorns before the semifinals? Some candidates figure to be Hawai'i, Stanford, Washington and Illinois.
• Speaking of the Rainbow Wahine, what will the committee do with them? UH stands 28-2 and has won 24 straight matches and has been ranked third in the AVCA poll (which is not used at all for selection purposes) for the last seven weeks. But Hawai'i stands just 22nd in the RPI, thanks in part to no other team in the WAC being among the RPI top 75.
• On the flip side, what will the committee think of Florida State? The Seminoles have had one of their best seasons ever and come into the tournament - their first since 2002 - with a 28-2 record and a 16-match winning streak. FSU has climbed to an all-time high of 14th in the national rankings, but has been near the top of the RPI since it was first released and currently stands third.
• Which of the three power conferences will get the most teams into the tournament? The Big Ten has nine teams in the top 66 of the RPI, whil the Pac-10 has nine in the top 65 and the Big 12 has eight in the top 60. To get an answer to this question, we'll be watching to see the fates of teams like Northwestern, Purdue, Wisconsin, Oregon State, Washington State, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas A&M.
• Will North Dakota State (45th in the RPI), Furman (49th) and Delaware (52nd) garner at-large bids? All three have had great seasons, dominated en route to claiming regular-season titles in their conferences, but then faltered in their league tournaments.

The final two automatic bids were decided on Saturday, with 20th-ranked Northern Iowa and Northern Colorado punching their tickets to the tournament. The Panthers beat Wichita State 26-28, 25-19, 25-11, 25-18 in the final of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship to improve to 30-2 on the season and run their winning streak to 28. Sophomore middle blocker Michelle Burow had 15 kills on .500 hitting and junior libero Ellie Blankenship notched 27 digs to lead UNI.

In the final conference tournament, Northern Colorado - in just its fourth season of NCAA Division I play - knocked off top-seeded Portland State 25-17, 23-25, 25-17, 25-19 in the championship match of the Big Sky Conference tournament. Senior outside hitter Kenzie Shreve led the Bears with 28 kills on .429 hitting, as Northern Colorado earned its first NCAA Championship invitation in any sport since moving up to the Division I level.

Elsewhere, there were two huge matchups between the elites in the Big Ten, but both ended in sweeps by the home squads. Top-ranked Penn State beat No. 12 Michigan 25-21, 25-13, 25-23 to extend its NCAA-record winning streak to 96 and conclude a second-consecutive perfect regular season. Senior All-America outside hitter Megan Hodge had 17 kills on .351 hitting and 11 digs to lead PSU. No. 13 Minnesota knocked off fifth-ranked Illinois 25-23, 25-23, 25-22, thanks in large part to junior middle blocker Lauren Gibbemeyer, who had 18 kills on just 30 attempts for a .500 hitting percentage and was in on five blocks.

The other two matchups of ranked teams both ended in four-set victories by the home teams. No. 16 USC beat 19th-ranked Arizona (23-25, 25-22, 36-34, 25-23) behind a career-high 23 kills from senior outside hitter Jessica Gysin and 34 digs from senior libero Alli Hillgren. In non-conference action, 15th-ranked Florida topped No. 25 Notre Dame 25-13, 27-29, 25-15, 25-9 in front of a crowd of 3,875. Sophomore Kelly Murphy set the Gators to a .365 hitting mark, and senior libero Elyse Cusack recorded 23 digs for UF.

One ranked team was upset by a ranked team on Saturday, as New Mexico State knocked off No. 23 Colorado State on the road by scores of 21-25, 25-23, 25-20, 26-24. The Aggies got 16 kills and 13 digs from junior outside hitter Kayleigh Giddens and 15 kills on .344 hitting, plus 13 digs from senior outside hitter Krista Altermatt.

AT-LARGE QUALIFIERS, AT A GLANCE
Now that all of the automatic bids have been determined, let's take a quick look at how the committee determines which schools receive at-large berths to the NCAA Championship. Here is are a few excerpts from the championship manual:

• Ratings Percentage Index
• Head-to-head competition
• Results versus common opponents
• Significant wins and losses

If the NCAA Championship field was determined based soley on the latest RPI listing (released on Monday and available here) - then the last five teams to make the field as at-large participants would be North Dakota State (RPI: 45; did not play this week), UC Santa Barbara (RPI: 46; def. San Diego State 3-2 on Tuesday), the University of Miami (RPI: 47; lost 3-1 to No. 14 Florida State on Wednesday), Oklahoma (RPI: 48; lost 3-0 to No. 2 Texas on Wednesday and lost 3-0 at No. 7 Iowa State on Saturday) and Furman (RPI: 49; did not play this week). The first five teams out would be Georgia Tech (RPI: 50; def. Clemson 3-2 on Friday), Missouri State (RPI: 51; lost 3-2 to Wichita State on Friday), Delaware (RPI: 52; lost to George Mason 3-2 on Monday; def. Liberty 3-0 on Friday; def. Pittsburgh 3-1 on Saturday), Washington State (RPI: 53; lost 3-1 to Oregon on Wednesday and def. Oregon State 3-2 on Friday) and South Florida (RPI: 54; lost 3-2 to Central Florida on Wednesday).

A field determined in that way would include seven teams from the Pac-10, as well as six each from the Big Ten and Big 12, plus four from the BIG EAST and SEC, three from the ACC and Mountain West and two each from Conference USA, the Atlantic 10, Big West, Missouri Valley, Sun Belt, SoCon and Summit League. All other conferences would have just one participant.

To get an idea of some of the teams competing for at-large bids, below is a breakdown of the RPI top 100 by conference, with the leagues featuring the most top-100 teams listed first and the automatic qualifiers noted. Remember that the latest RPI only includes results through last Sunday (Nov. 22).

BIG TEN CONFERENCE (11 in top 100; 6 in top 50)
Penn State - 2 (automatic qualifier)
Illinois - 4
Michigan - 9
Minnesota - 13
Ohio State - 31
Michigan State - 37
Purdue - 55
Northwestern - 59
Wisconsin - 66
Indiana - 79
Iowa - 92

PACIFIC-10 CONFERENCE (10 in top 100; 7 in top 50)
Washington - 5
Stanford - 6 (automatic qualifier)
California - 8
UCLA - 11
Arizona - 17
USC - 25
Oregon - 26
Washington State - 53
Oregon State - 65
Arizona State - 81

BIG 12 CONFERENCE (8 in top 100; 6 in top 50)
Texas - 1 (automatic qualifier)
Iowa State - 7
Nebraska - 10
Baylor - 33
Texas A&M - 40
Oklahoma - 48
Kansas - 56
Missouri - 58

ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE (8 in top 100; 4 in top 50)
Florida State - 3 (automatic qualifier)
Duke - 27
Miami - 47
Georgia Tech - 50
Clemson - 57
North Carolina - 64
Virginia Tech - 70
Virginia - 99

BIG EAST CONFERENCE (7 in top 100; 4 in top 50)
Notre Dame - 14
Louisville - 38 (automatic qualifier)
Cincinnati - 42
Pittsburgh - 44
South Florida - 54
Marquette - 85
Syracuse - 86

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE (6 in top 100; 4 in top 50)
LSU - 12 (automatic qualifier)
Florida - 16
Tennessee - 19
Kentucky - 21
Auburn - 73
South Carolina - 100

CONFERENCE USA (6 in top 100; 2 in top 50)
Tulane - 32
Rice - 39 (automatic qualifier)
Southern Miss - 61
Tulsa - 67
SMU - 74
Marshall - 83

MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE (5 in top 100; 3 in top 50)
Colorado State - 18 (automatic qualifier)
New Mexico - 41
TCU - 43
Utah - 75
BYU - 94

ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE (5 in top 100; 2 in top 50)
Dayton - 23 (automatic qualifier)
Saint Louis - 29
Xavier - 62
George Washington - 88
Temple - 89

BIG WEST CONFERENCE (5 in top 100; 2 in top 50)
Long Beach State - 36 (automatic qualifier)
UC Santa Barbara - 46
UC Irvine - 69
Cal State Fullerton - 87
UC Davis - 96

MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE (5 in top 100; 2 in top 50)
Northern Iowa - 20 (automatic qualifier)
Wichita State - 28
Missouri State - 51
Creighton - 90
Drake - 98

WEST COAST CONFERENCE (4 in top 100; 1 in top 50)
Saint Mary's - 35 (automatic qualifier)
San Diego - 60
Pepperdine - 72
Santa Clara - 97

SUN BELT CONFERENCE (3 in top 100; 2 in top 50)
Florida International - 15
Middle Tennessee - 30 (automatic qualifier)
Western Kentucky - 71

COLONIAL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (3 in top 100; 0 in top 50)
Delaware - 52
George Mason - 77 (automatic qualifier)
VCU - 78

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE (2 in top 100; 1 in top 50)
Ohio - 24 (automatic qualifier)
Western Michigan - 68

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE (2 in top 100; 1 in top 50)
Furman - 49
College of Charleston - 95 (automatic qualifier)

WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (2 in top 100; 1 in top 50)
Hawai'i - 22 (automatic qualifier)
New Mexico State - 76

IVY LEAGUE (2 in top 100; 0 in top 50)
Yale - 80
Penn - 91 (automatic qualifier)

ATLANTIC SUN CONFERENCE (1 in top 100; 1 in top 50)
Lipscomb - 34 (automatic qualifier)

SUMMIT LEAGUE (1 in top 100; 1 in top 50)
North Dakota State - 45
[IPFW - 128 (automatic qualifier)]

AMERICA EAST CONFERENCE (1 in top 100; 0 in top 50)
Albany - 63
[Binghamton - 180 (automatic qualifier)]

BIG SKY CONFERENCE (1 in top 100; 0 in top 50)
Portland State - 84
[Northern Colorado - 106 (automatic qualifier)]

OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE (1 in top 100; 0 in top 50)
Jacksonville State - 82 (automatic qualifier)

SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE (1 in top 100; 0 in top 50)
Central Arkansas - 93
[Texas State - 108 (automatic qualifier)]

Alix Klineman had 33 kills to lead Stanford to its fourth consecutive Pac-10 title

It took a pair of five-set matches in regular-season finales to decide it, but the champion of the nation's toughest conference, once again - for the fourth consecutive season - is No. 6 Stanford. The Cardinal dropped the opening two sets at home against archrival and 11th-ranked California on Friday night, but rallied for a 23-25, 18-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-4 triumph in front of 5,125 fans. Junior outside hitter Alix Klineman pounded a career-high 33 kills on .329 hitting to go with 11 digs to lead the Cardinal - which ended the regular season with six consecutive victories, including four against ranked opponents. The win gave Stanford a 14-4 final record in Pac-10 Conference action.

Fourth-ranked Washington could have matched that mark and earned a share of the league title (as well as the conference's automatic bid, by virtue of a tiebreaker) with a home win against No. 18 Oregon. The Huskies took the first two sets, but then suffered three consecutive tight set defeats that saw Oregon save three match poings. In the end, it was the Ducks who prevailed, 15-25, 21-25, 25-23, 31-29, 15-13, snapping a 17-match losing streak against UW in front of a crowd of 4,036. Senior outside hitter Sonja Newcombe was brilliant for Oregon, finishing with a career-high 36 kills on .382 hitting to go with 21 digs. Junior outside hitter Heather Meyers added 20 kills and 17 digs for UO, while junior outside hitter Kindra Carlson led the Huskies with 24 kills on .350 hitting and 20 digs. Senior libero Tamari Miyashiro had 31 digs for Washington, and junior setter Jenna Hagglund set UW to a .301 attack percentage.

There was one other matchup of ranked teams on Friday, and No. 9 UCLA pounded 19th-ranked Arizona 25-13, 25-13, 25-17. Freshman Lauren Cook set the Bruins to a .369 hitting mark, and UCLA held the Wildcats to a .103 attack percentage. Junior outside hitter Tiffany Owens had 16 kills and 16 digs for Arizona.

Also on Friday, top-ranked Penn State swept Michigan State (25-17, 25-20, 25-21) to move within one match of a second consecutive unbeaten regular season. The Nittany Lions will play host to 12th-ranked Michigan on Saturday evening. The Wolverines suffered an upset on Friday, losing 25-20, 25-22, 25-22 to Ohio State. Junior outside hitter Katie Dull led the Buckeyes with 13 kills on .423 hitting, while senior Ashley Hughes set her offense to a .385 attack percentage. Junior setter Lexi Zimmerman helped U-M post a .343 hitting mark in the losing effort.

There was one other major upset on Friday, as Conference USA champion Rice knocked off SEC champion and 17th-ranked LSU in three sets (32-30, 25-20, 25-20). Junior Meredith Schamun set the Owls to a .338 hitting mark, and senior middle blocker Natalie Bogan had a match-high 14 kills on .367 hitting for Rice - which beat a ranked team for the first time since 2006 and will carry a nine-match winning streak into the NCAA tournament.

The final two automatic bids to the NCAA Championship will be determined on Saturday. No. 20 Northern Iowa will face third-seeded Wichita State in the final of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship at 3:07 p.m. CT, while top-seeded Portland State and third-seeded Northern Colorado will face off for the Big Sky title at 7 p.m. PT. Neither outcome figures to affect the hopes of bubble teams too dramatically. We'll also be treated to four matchups of ranked teams on the final day of the regular season. In addition to PSU-Michigan, No. 5 Illinois will be at 13th-ranked Minnesota, 16th-ranked USC plays host to No. 19 Arizona and the top non-conference match of the weekend will see 25th-ranked Notre Dame play at No. 15 Florida.

TODAY'S SCOREBOARD WATCH
All Times Eastern
New Mexico State at No. 23 Colorado State, 2 p.m. - Live Stats
Middle Tennessee at No. 22 Saint Louis, 4 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 20 Northern Iowa vs. Wichita State (MVC final), 4:07 p.m. - TV: FSN, Fox College Sports, CSN, Metro Sports, DirecTV Channel 671, Dish Channel 418 | Live Stats
No. 19 Arizona at No. 16 USC, 5 p.m. - Live Stats
Arizona State at No. 9 UCLA, 6 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats
BYU at No. 21 Saint Mary's, 6 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 12 Michigan at No. 1 Penn State, 7 p.m. - TV: Big Ten Network (airs Sunday, 6 p.m. ET) | Live Stats
Kansas at No. 2 Texas, 7:30 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats
Oklahoma at No. 7 Iowa State, 7:30 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 25 Notre Dame at No. 15 Florida, 7:30 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 5 Illinois at No. 13 Minnesota, 8 p.m. - Live Stats
Colorado at No. 8 Nebraska, 8 p.m. - Live Stats
Portland State vs. Northern Colorado (Big Sky final), 10 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats

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.