Cyclones, Panthers hosting NCAA volleyball tournament games

Iowa State and Northern Iowa earned top-six seeds in the NCAA volleyball tournament and will host first- and second-round matches this weekend.

The fourth-seeded Cyclones (22-5) will play Horizon League champion Wisconsin-Milwaukee (25-4, 16-0 Horizon League) on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the Minneapolis Regional at Hilton Coliseum. Northern Illinois and Miami (Fla.) will play at 5. Northern Illinois (28-6) and Miami (25-4) earned at-large bids to the tournament. The Huskies were upset by Central Michigan in the conference title match on Saturday and the Hurricanes finished second in the ACC behind Florida State.

The winners will play Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

This is the third time Iowa State has been chosen to host the first- and second-rounds matches.

Northern Iowa (32-1) will host the Niagara Purple Eagles (25-8) on Friday. Missouri (21-12) will play Florida in the other first-round game in the McLeod Center.

The winners play Saturday for a berth in the NCAA regional in Gainesville, Fla.

UNI is making its 17th NCAA tournament appearance - and ninth under Coach Bobbi Petersen - and this is the sixth time the Panthers have hosted first- and second-round matches.

All-session tickets for first- and second-round matches at Iowa State go on sale to the general public at noon today and will be available until 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Cyclone season-ticket holders and Cyclone Club members may purchase tickets beginning at 8 a.m. today. All-session tickets can be purchased for $14 for adults, $10 for youth (high school and younger).

Tickets can be purchased at www.cyclones.com, by phone at 1 (888) 478-2925, or at the Iowa State Athletics Ticket Office.

All-session tickets at UNI are available by calling (319) 273-4849 or by stopping in at the ticket office.

Seven Big 12 volleyball squads earned spots in the tournament, with Texas gaining the No. 1 seed.

Nebraska is seeded second.