MWC Announces Volleyball Championship Pairings

Cougars Seeded Fourth; To Face No. 5 UNLV Thursday

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- For the third straight year, Colorado State (20-8, 12-2 MWC) captured the Mountain West Conference regular season championship and earned a No. 1 seed in the MWC Championship. The Rams, who host the MWC Championship for the second time in three years, take on No. 8 seed Air Force (8-21, 2-12 MWC) in the 7 p.m. match Thursday, Nov. 21. All matches will be played at Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colo.

San Diego State (20-11, 11-3 MWC) posted its best finish in conference play since joining the Mountain West and earned a No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. The Aztecs, who reached 20 wins for the first time since 1996, will battle No. 7 seed New Mexico (8-19, 3-11 MWC) at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 21.

Defending conference tournament champion Utah (21-7, 10-4 MWC) is a No. 3 seed for the third time in four years. The Utes, who defeated Colorado State in five games last year to capture their first MWC tournament championship, play No. 6 seed Wyoming (20-10, 5-9 MWC) at 11 a.m. Nov. 21.

BYU (12-16, 7-7 MWC) enters this year's tournament with its lowest seeding since joining the Mountain West at No. 4 and will face No. 5 seed UNLV (10-18, 6-8 MWC) at 4 p.m. Nov. 21.

Semifinal matches are scheduled for 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22. The championship match will be televised live on Fox Sports Net (Rocky Mountain) at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23.

The MWC has produced three different conference tournament champions the past three years (Colorado State-1999, BYU-2000, Utah-2001). For the first time in league history, four teams enter the conference tournament with 20 wins (Colorado State, San Diego State, Utah, Wyoming).

The winner of the 2002 MWC Championship will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Last year, a record four teams were invited to the NCAA Tournament as Utah earned the league's automatic berth, while BYU, Colorado State and San Diego State earned at-large bids.

For the first time in league history, all matches of the 2002 MWC Volleyball Championship will be televised. For a listing of BYU Cougars matches at the MWC Tournament please click here.

Tickets to the event are available at the Colorado State ticket office: 800-491-RAMS (7267).