Lady Vols Volleyball hosts NCAA Tournament

The Lady Volunteers will host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament this weekend, opening with Duke at 7 p.m. on Friday. No. 13 and 11th-seeded Minnesota and Louisville will also make the trip to Rocky Top.

UT Head Coach Rob Patrick, as well as senior Kylie Marshall, junior Nikki Fowler and sophomore Kayla Jeter will be available for comment about the team's upcoming participation in the NCAA Tournament.

Action will kick off at 5 p.m. on Friday at Thompson-Boling Arena with Minnesota taking on Louisville. A rematch of UT's first-round contest in 2006 will follow at 7 p.m. with the Big Orange squaring off against Duke. The winners of both matches will advance to play on Saturday at 7 p.m. for the right to move on to the NCAA Regional in Minneapolis, Minn., to be held Dec. 11-12.

The Lady Vols have now been selected to participate in the NCAA Tournament five times in the past six seasons and 11 times in school history. The Big Orange has hosted six previous times in school history, with three of those coming in consecutive seasons from 2004-06. UT has amassed a 7-1 record in those matches, three of which were contested in Alumni Gym, while the other five took place in Stokely Athletics Center.

The Lady Vols hope to benefit from the having the opportunity to host the opening rounds as they have been spectacular on their home court this season, putting together a 12-1 record with victories over three participants in this year's NCAA Tournament in Lipscomb, Florida and Kentucky. UT also defeated Louisville and Notre Dame and Kentucky on the road to give itself a 6-5 record over 2009 NCAA Tournament teams.

Tennessee is one of four Southeastern Conference squads selected to host the first and second rounds, as No. 15-seed LSU, 16th-seeded Florida and Kentucky also earned the honors. The Tigers and Gators will host Tulane and the College of Charleston, respectively, while the Wildcats will take on Michigan State in the opening round.