The Hornets, who received an automatic berth after winning the Big Sky Conference Tournament on Nov. 23, were placed in the Pacific Region and will face defending national-champion and host Stanford in the first round on Friday, Dec. 6, at approximately 7:30 p.m. Nevada and Pacific will square off at 5 p.m. on Friday (Dec. 6) with the winner of that match facing the Sacramento State-Stanford winner on Saturday, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m. All matches will take place in Maples Pavilion on the Stanford campus.

The Cardinal (27-4) are currently ranked fourth in the USA Today/AVCA top 25 poll and received the No. 2 seed in the 64-team tournament. The top 16 teams in the tournament were seeded nationally and placed within four regions. The teams tabbed as the top seeds were USC (West Region), Stanford (Pacific Region), Nebraska (Central Region) and Northern Iowa (East Region).

Sacramento State enters the tournament with a 24-10 overall record and a 7-1 mark over the team’s final eight matches. The Hornets, who have won either the Big Sky Tournament or the regular-season championship each of the last six years, defeated Eastern Washington in this season’s conference tournament final to receive the automatic bid.

Pacific enters the tournament with an 18-12 overall record while Nevada is currently 22-9. Sacramento State lost, 3-0, to both Pacific and Nevada earlier this season. The Hornets lost at Nevada on Sept. 13 and lost at home to Pacific on Oct. 1. Sacramento State and Stanford squared off last season at Maples Pavilion with the Cardinal defeating the Hornets, 3-0 (30-21, 30-22, 38-36).

Sacramento State made its first appearance in the NCAA Div. I Tournament in 1997 when it lost to Pacific, 3-1, in the first round at the University of Washington. In 1998, the Hornets defeated Houston, 3-0, in the first round before dropping their second-round match to host Pacific, 3-0. In 1999, the Hornets lost their first-round match to Minnesota, 3-0, in Los Angeles on the USC campus. The 2000 team lost in the first round to host Santa Clara, 3-0, in San Jose, Calif.

Sacramento State is the only team from the Big Sky Conference to make the NCAA Tournament as Eastern Washington was snubbed despite being ranked 18th in the nation and finishing the regular season with a 29-2 overall record (both losses coming to the Hornets).

Sacramento State faced a total of seven opponents that made the NCAA Tournament this season, posting a 2-5 record against those teams. That included victories over Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Temple, and losses to San Diego, Santa Clara, Fresno State, Pacific and Nevada.