Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
BYU
Wildcats take on BYU in NCAA Tournament first round Friday
11/30/2023 9:58:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Weber State is making its third-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament
• After several dramatic comebacks to claim the Big Sky Conference Tournament title, the Weber State volleyball team is headed to the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats will take on the BYU Cougars in the first round on Friday night at 7 p.m. in Provo, Utah.
• Friday's match from the Smith Fieldhouse will be televised live on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Live stats available at WeberStateSports.com and the Weber State Wildcats app.
• Weber State is 21-9 overall and finished fourth in the Big Sky at 11-5. WSU has reached 20 or more wins in a season for just the eighth time in school history, including three of the last five years.
• BYU is 24-6 overall and was third in the Big 12 Conference at 13-5. The Cougars are ranked 16th in the nation in this week's AFCA poll and received a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Wildcats earned a berth into the NCAA Championships with three comeback wins at the Big Sky Tournament last week in Greeley, Colorado. The Wildcats defeated Portland State 3-0 in the first round, beat No. 1 seed Sacramento State 3-2 in the second round and defeated No. 3 seed Montana State 3-2 in the championship match.
• WSU rallied from deficits in all three matches. In the semifinals against Sacramento State, WSU trailed 2-1 and was down 18-12 in the fourth set, before rallying to win the fourth and fifth sets. In the championship match, the 'Cats lost the first set, trailed 24-20 in the second set, before rallying to win that set, then lost the third set and trailed 2-1. The 'Cats were down 18-13 in the fourth set before rallying to force a fifth set. In set five, WSU trailed 5-0, 8-3, and 12-8 before another rally to win 15-13 and clinch the conference title.
• WSU standout Dani Richins was named the MVP of the Big Sky Tournament. Richins has led the Wildcats all season and is concluding one of the greatest careers in Weber State and Big Sky volleyball history. This season Richins leads the Big Sky in aces with 48. She is also fourth in the conference in kills at 3.5 per set and fourth in points.
• Richins is all over the Weber State record book. She has played in 145 career matches during her five seasons at Weber State, which is tied for the most in school history. Friday's match will make her the all-time leader in matches played with 146. She is WSU's all-time leader in aces with 212, which is the third most career aces of any active player in the nation. She also is first in WSU history and Big Sky Conference history in career attacks with 5,424. She ranks second in career kills with 1,835, which is also fourth in Big Sky history. She is fourth in kills average, and is sixth all-time in digs. Richins is a five-time All-Big Sky first-team selection and was named the Big Sky MVP in 2021. She also earned All-America honors during the spring 2021 season.
• WSU's other senior, Makayla Sorensen, was named the Big Sky Libero of the Year and earned second team All-Big Sky honors. This season Sorensen is fourth in the Big Sky in digs at 4.10 per game.
• Sorensen has played in 112 career matches in her Wildcat career that began in 2020. She is also a school record holder as she ranks first in school history in career digs with 1,718, which is the 15th-most in Big Sky Conference history.
• Junior Kate Standifird also earned first-team All-Big Sky honors. She leads the conference in assists at 10.0 per set. She is also 10th in the Big Sky in digs at 3.5 per set. Standifird ranks 10th in school history in career digs with 1,184.
• Weber State is coached by Jeremiah Larsen who is in his ninth season with the Wildcats. He is second in school history with 152 career wins and has led WSU to two Big Sky regular season titles and two tournament titles. Larsen is a BYU graduate and played four years on the Cougar men's volleyball team from 2000-03. He was a member of the 2001 BYU National Championship team.
• Weber State is making its third-ever appearance in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament. The Wildcats first went to the NCAA's in 1998, a 3-0 loss to Nebraska. During the spring season in 2021, the Wildcats advanced to the NCAA Tournament in Omaha. WSU defeated Bowling Green in the first round of the tournament, the first NCAA Tournament win in school history. WSU lost 3-0 to Wisconsin in the second round.
• This will be the 58th all-time meeting between the two teams since Weber State became a Division I volleyball school in 1974 and the Wildcats have never beaten BYU. BYU is 57-0 all-time against Weber State and is 27-0 against the Wildcats in Provo. The two teams last met in 2021, a 3-2 BYU win in Provo. The series is 63-0 dating back to 1969.
• The winner of Friday's match will play the winner of No. 5 seed Arizona State and Georgia on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Provo.
