BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford volleyball team erupted in cheers Sunday when Cincinnati was revealed as the Bulldogs’ opening round opponent in the 2011 NCAA Volleyball Tournament. The teams will square off in Tallahassee, Fla., on Friday, Dec. 2 at 4:30 p.m. ET as host team No. 12 Florida State will also face Albany the same day at 7 p.m. in the opening round of the national tournament. The winners of each match will face off on Saturday, Dec. 3 for a chance to move on to the Regional round in Minneapolis, Minn.
Cincinnati (26-9, 12-2) finished with the best overall record in the Big East this season and also won the Big East Tournament with a 3-0 win over Notre Dame. The Bearcats have won 13 of their last 14 matches, losing their first home match since 2007 with a five-set loss to Ohio on Nov. 25. The team leads the conference in kills with 1,596 (13.53 per set) and their offense is led by junior middle blocker Jordanne Scott with 438 kills (3.48 per set) and a .321 hitting percentage. The team ranks second in the Big East in assists (1,488, 12.61 per set) with freshman setter Caylin Mahoney also ranking second individually with 1,292 (10.95 per set).
This will be the first meeting between the two schools and only the sixth time Samford has faced a current member of the Big East. The matchup against Cincinnati makes it the fifth consecutive year the Bulldogs have faced off against a Big East team, having faced DePaul, South Florida, Connecticut and Syracuse in consecutive years since 2007. Samford is 1-4 all time against the Big East, with their only win coming in 2008, a 3-1 victory against South Florida. The Southern Conference has only one NCAA Tournament match victory, a 3-1 win by the College of Charleston over North Carolina in 2005.