For BYU, it is business as usual. For Utah, it is pure ecstacy.
Regardless of their circumstances, both schools are part of the Big Dance. With 64 teams, it is the biggest women's volleyball tournament ever staged by the NCAA.While the Cougars are making their 17th NCAA Tournament appearance in 18 years, the Utes are just plain thrilled to be invited to the party for the first time.
BYU, the No. 2 seed in the Central Region, hosts first- and second-round matches Friday night at the Smith Fieldhouse. The Cougars (28-3) take on Coastal Carolina (23-12) Friday after Kansas State (18-11) faces Georgetown (24-5).
Utah, an eighth seed in the Pacific Region, travels to Lincoln, Neb., to meet Illinois State (22-9) Friday afternoon. If the Utes win, they'll play either Morgan State (18-14) or Nebraska (28-1). Friday's match will be broadcast live on radio station AM-700 KWLW at 4 p.m.
Second-round matches will be played Saturday night.
Though tournament appearances are almost routine for the Cougars, they are happy to be a host school for the second straight season. "We were on the road the last two weeks and going on the road again would have been a drain," said BYU coach Elaine Michaelis. "It's good to be home to get some rest. It will give our fans the chance to be part of the NCAAs."
The winners of this weekend's matches advance to the four regional tournaments Dec. 10-13, held at campus sites of the highest seeded teams remaining. That means if BYU wins both matches at home it will likely travel to Penn State, the No. 1 seed in the Central. The Final Four will be played at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis., the following weekend.
The fact this year's tourney field expanded from 56 to 64 teams probably didn't directly benefit BYU or Utah. Even with a smaller tournament, the Cougars would likely still have been a host and the Utes probably would have still qualified. And if seeding is any indication, Utah would have made it to the tournament under the previous format.
At the same time, Michaelis applauds expansion, explaining it is good for women's collegiate volleyball in general. "It's giving us better exposure and more credibility," she said. "More teams means more interest from around the country."
That would include additional interest in Salt Lake City, although Michaelis feels the Utes are receiving their inaugural bid a year too late. "Utah deserved to be in last year with the smaller bracket," she said.
Michaelis is glad six Western Athletic Conference teams made the field, including league champ Hawaii, the No. 2 seed in the East. Only the Big Ten and Big 12 qualified as many teams.
Ute coach Beth Launiere said she was pleasantly surprised by her team's high seeding, adding it is a compliment to her program as well as the WAC.
Launiere took over a 1-32 program in 1989 and based on their seeding, the Utes are now considered one of the top 32 teams in the nation. Led by outside hitter Kalani Tonga, Utah is looking forward to the challenge.
"There's been a lot of people who have worked hard for this opportunity for an awful long time," Launiere said.
How excited were the Utes about going to the tournament? They listened to the pairings Sunday via speakerphone, and when Utah's name was announced, they cheered wildly. Then they realized that they had been celebrating so loudly they didn't hear who their opponent would be, so they called the NCAA headquarters to find out. As fate would have it, they'll be up against Illinois State, led by former Utah coach Julie Morgan.
In Provo, the mood is quite different. Great expectations surround the BYU program, and anything short of Final Four would be disappointing. "We'll see how good we are," Michaelis said.
The Cougars are coming off a grueling, three-and-a-half hour loss to Hawaii in the WAC Championship game last weekend. But they've put that defeat behind them and are ready for another run at the national championship.
"We were pretty fatigued," Michaelis said. "We didn't practice Monday and had a light practice Tuesday. We're just trying to prepare and recover. We were disappointed to lose, but we felt good about the way we played. It was just great volleyball."
Michaelis likes her team's chances in this year's tournament. Second-team All-America Korie Rogers, WAC freshman of the Year Nina Puikkonen and All-WAC setter Anna-Lena Smith have carried the Cougars this season.
She said the 1998 team is comparable to other talented squads of the past, including the 1997 edition that came within a game of the Final Four, and the 1993 team -- the only group from BYU that has advanced to the Final Four.
"We're more balanced than any of those teams," Michaelis said. "This is the best we've been in that regard. We don't have the superstars we've had in the past, but teams can't take everything away from us. If they take away the middle, we're still strong outside."