UT volleyball team to host Duke in 1st round of NCAA tournament

The Tennessee volleyball team will get to spend a little more time at home before the season ends.

The Lady Vols were named a No. 14 seed Sunday for the NCAA tournament, meaning Thompson-Boling Arena will host first- and second-round action Thursday and Friday.

Tennessee will play Duke (21-8) in the first round at 7 p.m. Thursday. The other first-round matchup pits Ohio State (19-14) against Middle Tennessee State (21-11) at 4:30 p.m. Thursday The winners will play at 7 p.m. Friday for a chance to advance to the regional in Gainesville, Fla.

"I thought the body of work we put together this year really was deserving of a higher seed," said coach Rob Patrick. "We only lost three matches. Two of them were to teams that ranked in the final RPI poll. We beat top 25 teams multiple times. So I really thought we did a great job of putting ourselves in a position to be seeded higher.

"It is what it is. No. 1, I'm just excited we were seeded so we could host."

Tennessee went 12-0 at home this season, including a four-set win over Kentucky on Wednesday to clinch the program's first outright SEC title.

The Lady Vols (27-3) haven't lost a home match since Nov. 12, 2010, against LSU.

"We're undefeated at home, and that's a huge advantage, whether we think so or not," said junior Leslie Cikra. "That gives us an edge competing in the first two rounds."

Duke, fourth-place finisher in the ACC, makes its second trip in three years to Knoxville for the NCAA tournament. The Lady Vols beat the Blue Devils 3-1 in Knoxville in the first round of the 2009 tournament.

If the Lady Vols advance to the third round, they could face No. 3-seed Illinois in the Sweet 16. The Fighting Illini beat the Lady Vols 3-1 on Sept. 2.

Tennessee, a team that relies heavily on underclassmen, has pointed to that game as when it realized it could compete nationally.

"I definitely love rematches," said sophomore Kelsey Robinson. "Revenge is always sweet, so I'm excited if we do get the opportunity to play Illinois, but we can't get there unless we beat Duke, then Ohio State or Middle Tennessee."

This marks Tennessee's fourth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, and seventh appearance in the past eight years.

After Sweet 16 and Final Four appearances in 2004 and 2005, respectively, the Lady Vols have stalled in the second round, including the past two seasons.