Both Hawai`i and New Mexico State will represent the Western Athletic Conference in the 2008 NCAA Volleyball Tournament. The Rainbow Wahine earned the No. 7 overall seed in the field and will face Belmont at 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 5, in Los Angeles. The Aggies will travel to Berkeley, Calif., to take on Saint Mary's at 6 p.m. Friday.
Hawai`i (28-3) was awarded the seventh seed after winning its ninth-straight WAC Tournament. UH is making its 27th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its 16th in a row. This is the fifth-straight season and sixth in the last eight years that the Rainbow Wahine earned a top 16 seed but will not host the first and second rounds. Hawai`i has advanced to the NCAA Regionals in nine of the last 10 tournaments.
Belmont (25-7) qualified for the NCAA Tournament by winning the Atlantic Sun Championship with a sweep of top-seeded Lipscomb. The victory tied a program record of 11-straight wins and set a program record for most wins in a season with 25.
Host USC (16-11) will face San Diego (23-4) in the other first round match. The winners of the two matches will play at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6.
The Aggies earned an at-large berth in the tournament after posting a 25-8 record. This is NMSU's third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and fifth overall.
The Gaels (20-7) were also an at-large qualifier from the West Coast Conference, finishing third behind No. 16 San Diego and No. 24 San Francisco. Saint Mary’s has earned votes in the Bison/AVCA Division I Coaches Poll for nine of 13 weeks this season.
Host California (23-6) will face Siena (20-12) in the other first round match at 8 p.m. The winners of the two matches will play at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6.
Team pairings were determined by geographical proximity, with the exception that teams from the same conference were not paired during the first and second rounds.