First Round
Saint Mary's Gaels (19-9, 11-7 WCC) vs. No. 22 Washington (18-12, 10-10 Pac-12)
Friday, November 30, 2018 at 3:30 p.m. CT
Omaha, Neb. –– D.J. Sokol Arena
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Second Round
Winner of Game Between No. 9 Creighton and South Dakota.

Moraga, Calif. – Saint Mary's heads to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in program history, facing off with No. 22-ranked Washington in the opening round.

BACK IN THE TOURNAMENT
The Gaels are back in the tournament for the first time since 2012 and they enter the weekend with a full head of steam.
 
SMC was given numerous accolades earlier in the week including a triad of players receiving All-WCC Honors: senior Lindsey Knudsen (First Team), senior Sarah Chase (Honorable Mention), and Breyan Ashley (Freshman Team). Knudsen amassed an average of 2.84 kills and 2.66 digs per set this season and reached the 1,000-career mark in both categories. Chase has collected 243 points (4th-most on the team), 192 kills (2.77 per set), and 200 digs (2.26 per set). She has also posted double-digit kills in 10 of her last 12 matches. Ashley has played in 89 sets in her first season at the collegiate level. She has collected a total of 92 kills (1.03 per set) as well as 33 digs and 22 blocks.
 
Meanwhile, the Gaels also saw six players receive WCC All-Academic Awards: senior Lindsey Calvin, Chase, Knudsen (All-Academic Team) and senior Emily Bible, sophomore Jennifer "Boo" Laird, and junior Sienna Young (Honorable Mentions).
 
SMC finished the regular season with a 19-9 overall mark which is their best record since going 20-8 in 2010. Their record included an 8-match winning streak in the season's early-goings to give Saint Mary's a 9-2 record to begin the year and their best start in over a decade (2005).
 
The Huskies' head coach Keegan Cook is a Saint Mary's alum and former classmate of SMC assistant coach Mandy Bible. Cook was the student-manager for two years before spending five as the team's assistant coach under current head coach Rob Browning. Furthermore, UW's volunteer assistant (Mariko Coverdale) played with Bible at Saint Mary's and they were both on the team together when the Gaels and Huskies last met in the Tournament - 2004's Round of 16.
 
The Gaels are 4-6 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and they have reached as far as the Round of 16 – 2004 against Washington.

No. 22 UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
This is the 17th-consecutive season that the Huskies have reached the NCAA Tournament which is the eighth-longest active streak in the nation. UW went 18-12 in the regular season and 10-10 in the Pac-12 – a conference which sent eight teams to the Tournament.
 
Washington's biggest hitter is Kara Bajema who is averaging 3.87 kills per set and has 437 kills overall this season. Shayne McPherson leads the team with 4.03 digs per set and Avie Niece has a team-best, 122 blocks (1.11 per set). Bajema was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team this week while Lauren Sanders was an Honorable Mention and Ella May Powell made the All-Freshman Team.

CREIGHTON
2018 marks year No.7 in-a-row for the Bluejays in the Tournament and this year, they enter as the No. 9 seed and host of the first two rounds. Creighton won the Big East this year with a 28-4 overall record and a perfect, 18-0 mark in conference. Jaali Winters was named Big East Player of the Year while Madelyn Cole and Taryn Kloth were on the First Team and Megan Ballenger was named to the Second Team.

SOUTH DAKOTA
This is the first year that the Coyotes have reached the NCAA Tournament and they did so by winning the Summit League Title with a 21-9 overall and 13-3 conference record.  Hayley Dotseth was named Summit League Player of the Year, leads the conference with 4.04 kills per set, and is ranked No. 3 in the country with 13.44 attempts per set. Anne Rasmussen was given the honor of Summit League Defensive Player of the year with 5.45 digs per set (first in the conference and 18th in the nation.) As a team, South Dakota ranks eighth in the country with 18.24 digs per set.