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PROVO — Rivals once, rivals forever.
The BYU and Utah women’s volleyball teams will open the 2016 NCAA Tournament on Friday against other teams in the Smith Fieldhouse in Provo, the selection committee announced Sunday evening.
No. 13-seeded BYU (27-3) will host Princeton at the regional site for the first and second round of the tournament. The Cougars, who won their third-straight West Coast Conference title and finished the regular season ranked No. 10 in the AVCA Coaches Poll and No. 9 in the RPI, will open against the Tigers (19-4) at 7 p.m. MST Friday.
“I'm thrilled for the team to be able to play at home again in front of our great crowd,” BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. “We're excited to play Princeton in the first round. We're familiar with both UNLV and Utah, but we're focused on the Tigers.”
The game marks the third game in one calendar year between BYU and Princeton in three sports: men’s volleyball, men’s basketball and women’s volleyball.
The winner will advance to face the winner of 17th-ranked Utah's match against UNLV (23-7) at 7 p.m. MT Saturday in Provo.
Provo here we come! Utes selected to 13th NCAA Tournament! #GoUtespic.twitter.com/jtOk5pm4X4
— Utah Volleyball (@UtahVolleyball) November 28, 2016
The Utes (20-11) will open at 5 p.m. MST in the Smith Fieldhouse. Utah, which defeated BYU 3-2 on Sept. 15 in Provo for their first win over the Cougars since 2009, are making their first tournament appearance since 2014 — but third in four years — against the third-place team from the Mountain West.
"We do not know much about UNLV," Utah coach Beth Launiere said. "I know that they had a very good season, a very good RPI ranking and they play in the Mountain West, which we know is a very tremendous conference. We are really happy to be back in the tournament.
"We knew that there was a chance we would be going to play at BYU in the first two rounds. We know that court very well and I do not think it hurts at all. I think it is very exciting for our fans. This will be an easier way to follow us to the tournament. I am very happy for our fans and hope they can make the trip down in what should be a very exciting tournament.”
The Utes (20-11) finished tied for fifth in the Pac-12 with an 11-9 league record, both all-time marks for the program since joining the league in 2011.
Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Texas earned the top four of 16 national seeds in the tournament.
The 64-team tournament opens Thursday at regional sites around the country. The semifinals begin Dec. 15 in Columbus, Ohio, with the final scheduled for Dec. 17, hosted by Ohio State.
