When UAA volleyball players gathered in a conference room Monday afternoon and heard confirmation the team will play host to the eight-team NCAA Division II West Regional as the top seed, their reaction was relatively subdued: Smiles, and light clapping.
The Seawolves were all but assured to host because they are ranked No. 1 in the region.
And it's not like UAA hasn't previously enjoyed the honor – the Seawolves hosted the regional last year, when they lost All-America hitter Katelyn Zanders to a first-round ankle injury and were eliminated in the second round.
But the real reason the Seawolves kept their emotions in check was their ambitions are bigger than merely qualifying for the regional – they've done that four straight years now, and seven of the last eight – or hosting it.
"We're hoping for the plaque that says something other than 'participant,' '' said senior setter Morgan Hooe. "Obviously, it's a huge accomplishment to host again. We have to take it one game at a time, but we want to go past where we were last year.''
The Seawolves, 29-2 and ranked No. 9 nationally after winning the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title for the second straight season, spearhead a field that includes a record five GNAC teams. Western Washington, Simon Fraser, Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington of the GNAC also made the cut. Previously, the most GNAC teams to qualify for the regional was four in 2014.
The single-elimination West Regional is set for Dec. 1-3 at the Alaska Airlines Center.
UAA plays Chico State (23-7) in the opener, with the winner of that match playing the winner of Simon Fraser-Northwest Nazarene in the semifinals. The Seawolves in the regular season played six of the other seven teams in the regional – Chico State was the exception — and went 12-1 against those squads, falling only to Western Washington at home. The Seawolves are 13-1 at home this season.
The regional champion advances to the Elite Eight in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Dec. 8-10.
The NCAA on Monday revealed the 64 teams still alive – eight berths in each of eight regions.
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UAA coach Chris Green, who has guided the Seawolves to a 188-71 record (.726 winning percentage) in nine seasons, said his crew should benefit from last year's experience hosting the regional.
"We have no excuses,'' Green said. "We've been here before and we know what's about to happen.''
Expect big crowds. UAA in its regional opener last year drew a school-record crowd of 2,627, and attracted 2,256 fans for the semifinals.
And less than two weeks ago, the Seawolves drew 2,257 fans, the largest crowd in Division II this season, for its final regular-season home match, a four-set win over Central Washington. UAA's average of 1,203 fans per home match leads Division II.
"We use the crowd, definitely, to our advantage,'' Hooe said.
The Seawolves carry an eight-match winning streak into the regional after earlier this season reeling off a school-record, 20-match winning streak.
Green said he'll give the players four consecutive days off this week before diving back into tough practices. The first practice back, he said, will include physical testing.
Fat chance his players will completely lie about during their break, not with opportunity beckoning again.
"We still have open gym,'' Hooe noted.
2016 NCAA Division II West Region Volleyball Championships
Dec. 1-3, Alaska Airlines Center, UAA campus
Thursday, Dec. 1, Quarterfinals
(Seeding, record in parentheses)
Noon – (6) Cal Baptist (20-8) vs. (3) Western Washington (21-7)
2:30 p.m. – (7) Central Washington (17-11) vs. (2) Cal State San Bernardino (24-4)
5 p.m. – (5) Northwest Nazarene (20-7) vs. (4) Simon Fraser (21-7)
7:30 p.m. – (8) Chico State (23-7) vs. (1) UAA (29-2)
Friday, Dec. 2, Semifinals
5 p.m. – Winner of Cal Baptist-Western Washington vs. winner Central Washington-Cal State San Bernardino
7:30 p.m. – Winner Northwest Nazarene-Simon Fraser vs. winner Chico State-UAA
Saturday, Dec. 3, Championship
7 p.m. – Semifinal winners
Tickets: Tickets go on sale noon Tuesday at the Alaska Airlines Center, online at alaskaairlinescenter.com, and by phone at (907) 891-7410.
Admission: Full tournament passes, $30 adults/$18 student/youth/seniors. Single-day passes, $12 adults/$7 student/youth/senior. Youth, school or club volleyball team groups of 10 or more can get group rate of $5 per ticket by calling Chris Gerace at (907) 786-7811.