The MSU volleyball team (19-11) anxiously awaited its fate for the NCAA Tournament and let out a thunderous roar Sunday night when they saw the bracket they were placed in.
The Spartans will travel to South Bend, Ind., where they will match up against George Mason (22-7) in the first round at 4 p.m. Saturday.
If they beat the Patriots, they will meet either the College of Charleston (29-5) or Notre Dame (23-7) in the second round at 4 p.m. Sunday.
Last year, some say the Spartans were put in a stacked bracket. They had two other top 25 teams (Wisconsin and Notre Dame) in the group of four.
This year, not one of the four teams are ranked.
Only the Spartans received votes in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll as of Monday.
"I think we got an excellent draw. It's certainly a better draw than we got last year," MSU head coach Chuck Erbe said. "I mean, I thought our bracket last year was stacked and stacked unfavorably.
"I just think we got a very favorable draw."
Many of the Spartans' coaches and players thought MSU might have been a team on the bubble before the selection show.
But after watching eight teams from the Big Ten get invitations, the team laughed at the thought it was on the bubble.
Regardless, junior setter Nikki Colson was just happy the Spartans were officially granted a spot in the field of 64.
"It's just nice to get this part over with, just knowing we're in the tournament," Colson said.
"To be able to refocus and to get our minds right and to get ready for a whole new season and that we're 0-0 and now that we're in the same boat as everyone else."
But Erbe said he's got his work cut out for him learning about the Patriots.
"I don't know much about George Mason," he said.
"I've not seen them play in three or four years. One thing I do know is they usually have a lot of foreign players in their lineup."
A possible rematch with Notre Dame in the second round might spice up this bracket, said senior outside hitter Kyla Smith. MSU knocked Notre Dame out of the tournament last year with a four-game victory in the first round.
Smith emphasized neither she nor the team is overlooking the Patriots. But she said a rematch with the Fighting Irish on their campus would be special.
"We beat them last year, so I'm sure they are going to remember that and be looking for some sort of revenge," Smith said.
"We're just looking to not give them any of that payback."
The Spartans will look to get past the second round for the first time since 1996. That Spartan team reached the regional finals before falling to Florida.
Since then, the Spartans have been knocked out in the second round four times and only once did they fall in round one.
All-Big Ten honor
Senior middle Angela Morley was named to the All-Big Ten Volleyball First Team on Monday.
She was a 2002 preseason All-Big Ten selection and was an honorable mention last season.
This year, she set an MSU record for all-time total blocks and for block assists with 632 and 548, respectively.
Those totals should increase with the NCAA Tournament games this weekend.
Morley ranked third in the Big Ten in blocks per game with 1.38 and ninth in attacking percentage with a .326 mark.
