The University of Washington’s road to another deep run in the NCAA volleyball tournament will begin and end exactly there.
The road, that is.
This afternoon, the Huskies begin a postseason journey that won’t include any home matches. Since UW won the 2005 national title, the Huskies have hosted at least one match in four of five tournaments. The 11th-ranked Huskies (23-7) did not earn one of the NCAA tournament’s 16 seeds and will have to play road matches for however long they stay alive.
First up is an afternoon match in Minneapolis, where UW will open play against Western Michigan in a first-round match that begins at 2:30 p.m. Pacific time. The winner is likely to face No. 13 seed and host Minnesota (18-11) on Saturday, although the Gophers have to get by underdog North Dakota State first.
UW is coming off an up-and-down season that saw the Huskies dominate inferior opponents but trip up against national powers. All seven of Washington’s losses came at the hands of top-20 teams, against whom the Huskies went 2-7 this season. UW tied for fourth in the Pacific-12 Conference, which is considered to be the best league in the country.
Minnesota took fifth in the Big Ten.
UW is making its 10th consecutive postseason appearance, having won its opening match in each of those tournaments.
The Huskies are led by a pair of Snohomish County products in all-Pac-12 first teamer Bianca Rowland of Lynnwood and former Monroe High School star Kylin Munoz.
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