STARKVILLE – The No. 24-ranked Mississippi State volleyball team is headed to Seattle for the first and second rounds of the 2021 NCAA Tournament after it was announced the Bulldogs received an at-large bid during Sunday’s selection show.

 

This will mark Mississippi State’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history after the Dawgs put together a record-breaking season, finishing 25-5 overall and 16-2 in the SEC.

 

Mississippi State will open play against Hawai’i on Friday, Dec. 3 at Washington’s Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.

 

Thirty-two conferences were awarded automatic qualification, and the remaining 32 slots were filled with at-large selections to complete the bracket. The top 16 teams were seeded nationally and placed within four regions. Louisville earned the top seed followed by No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Pittsburgh and No. 4 Wisconsin.

 

The NCAA Tournament appearance comes on the heels of head coach Julie Darty Dennis being named the 2021 SEC Coach of the Year after leading Mississippi State to the most successful season in program history.

 

Dennis and the Bulldogs completely rewrote the Mississippi State record books this season and shattered the MSU single-season records for both overall wins and conference victories. The Dawgs are currently ranked No. 24 in the latest AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, which marks another first for the program. State ended the regular season on a high note, winning 13 straight matches (All vs. SEC opponents), which is the SEC’s longest active win streak. The 13-match win streak is tied for the sixth-longest active streak in the country.

 

Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the volleyball program. Fans can also follow the program on social media by searching ‘HailStateVB’ on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.