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West Virginia volleyball makes NCAA Tournament for first time ever
The West Virginia women’s volleyball team made school history when they were selected into the NCAA Tournament, the program’s first appearance in the national event. (Photo: Rylan Nemesh/WVU Athletics)

West Virginia volleyball makes NCAA Tournament for first time ever

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (BVM) — When the Division I Women’s Volleyball Committee announced its selections for the NCAA Tournament during its selection show on Nov. 28, the West Virginia Mountaineers heard their name called. While usually an exciting moment for any program regardless of its historical success, the moment was especially poignant for the Mountaineers and their fans as it was the first time in the history of the program that the team earned a spot in the coveted NCAA Tournament.

The Mountaineers learned they made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history on Nov. 28 during the NCAA Volleyball Tournament Selection Show. (Photo: Devin Kane; Courtesy: WVU Athletics)

“I want to thank the former coaches, the former players, and anyone who is associated with this program for laying the foundation for us to get to this point,” Mountaineers head coach Reed Sunahara said in a school press release. “That is huge. More importantly, I want to thank the current players, staff, and administration for all of the hard work they put in to give us this opportunity. We are super proud of this team and this program. We are off to Kentucky.”

The Mountaineers seemed set up to achieve this year prior to this announcement as they had numerous successes under Sunahara leading into the 2021 season. The school hired Sunahara in 2015 after he found success at the University of Cincinnati and led the Bearcats to eight NCAA Tournament appearances in 11 years.

With their successful coach at the helm, the Mountaineers began ascending and in 2017, the Mountaineers won 21 games  and earning a spot in the postseason in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship before they had one of the best conference finishes in 2020 as they went 8-8 in the Big 12 and 10-11 overall during the COVID-shortened season. This season, the Mountaineers exploded going 19-9 with another 8-8 conference record to secure their history making spot in the tournament.

The Mountaineers earned their spot this season by jumping to a 10-0 record to start the year including a sweep over then No. 23 Michigan on Sept. 3. The team would also sweep Oklahoma for the first time in program history while also earning its first win over Iowa State on the season on its way to becoming one of seven Big 12 teams to make the tournament.

The team’s first NCAA Tournament game will come against the University of Illinois on Friday at 5 p.m. in Lexington, Ky. Unlike the Mountaineers, the Illini have had numerous successes in women’s volleyball as the team is making its 11th postseason appearance in the last 14 seasons and is 44-26 all-time in postseason play. The two teams have only played once in their history, a 2-0 loss for the Mountaineers back in 1978.

Now, the Mountaineers will look to make their first NCAA Tournament appearance a long one as they try to defeat the Illini in the first round. With history already made, the Mountaineers don’t want their story to end quickly.