MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa.- The No. 5 nationally ranked Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M (32-3, 14-2 LSC) will face off against the No. 1 ranked University of Tampa Spartan's (32-1, 19-1 SSC) in the NCAA Division II National semifinals on Friday, Dec. 8 at 6:30 p.m CT in the UPMC Events Center in Moon Township, Pa. 

LIVE COVERAGE

All matches for the NCAA Division II National Tournament will be covered by the host, Clarion Athletic communication department, with streaming on NCAA.com. 

Every match of the NCAA National Championship will be available on NCAA.com or through streaming on the OTT app. Fans will be able to purchase each individual match for $9.95 or the full tournament through the NCAA Championship option for $29.99. 

TICKET PRICES

● Adult, All Session – $30

● Student, Child, All Session - $15

● Adult, Single Session – $12

● Student, Child, Single Session – $7

● Groups of 10 or more, Single Session -$5

Tickets can be pre- purchased online at NCAA.com/tickets or at the door. UPMC Events Center is a cashless operation; CASH will NOT be accepted at the ticket box office.

WE'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE

The Lady Buffs are returning to the NCAA DII Final Four for the second year in a row and their tenth NCAA National semifinals after defeating Clarion in a sweep. The Lady Buffs are making their 30th appearance in the NCAA Division II National Touranment. 

THE HISTORY

WT and UT have a storied history with their last match against each other taking place on August 31, 2018 where the Spartan's defeated the Lady Buffs 1-3. WT trails in the in series 5-8, with their most recent win against UT coming on Sept. 8, 2012 in a sweep while in Denver, Colo. This is the second meeting in the NCAA tournament semifinals for WT and UT, with their first meeting coming before the millennium on Dec. 3, 1999 in a five-set loss to the Spartan's. 

West Texas A&M and the University of Tampa are tied in the nation for the second most National Championships with four each. 

SCOUTING TAMPA

The Spartan's are led by Chris Catanach who is in his 40th season at the helm. Catanach has a storied history of leading the Spartan's to four National Championships. Catanach has a record of 86-33 (72.7%) in postseason play after winning 20 South Region Championships for a record of 62-18 (77.5%) in the regional tournaments. The most recent National Championship for the Spartan's came in 2021, 2018 and 2014. 

The Spartan's are led in kills this season by Nathaly Perez with 316 averaging 2.93 kills per set. Two setters run the offense in a 6-2 with Zoey Seput leading in assists (702) with Emily Noe right behind (566). Libero JJ Ramirez is leading the defense with 552 digs averaging 4.84 per set while on the blockers side, Jenna Davis leads the team with 117 blocks on the season. 

Tampa comes into the NCAA Tournament with the best record of the teams with only one loss and 32 wins.

A WIN WOULD...

A win on Friday would advance the Lady Buffs to their sixth NCAA Division II National Championship held on the next day, Saturday, Dec. 9 at 4:00 p.m. CT against the winner between No. 2 Missouri St.-Louis and No. 6 Cal State LA.

ADDING TO THE RESUME

The Lady Buffs are competing in their 30th postseason appearance at the NCAA Division II National tournament. After winning their 16th NCAA Regional Championship and third in a row, the Lady Buffs will be back in the NCAA National Quarterfinals.

IN THE NATIONAL POLLS

WT is one of four teams ranked in the AVCA national polls at the Elite Eight. The Lady Buffs come in at #5, while Tampa is ranked #1, Wayne State is #3 and Missouri-St. Louis is #4. 

A LOOK AT THE BRACKET

The No. 4 seeded Lady Buffs, No. 1 Tamp, No. 2 Missouri St.-Louis and No. 6 Cal State LA are the final four teams left playing in Division II. (4) WT will take on (1) UT on Friday, Dec. 8 at 6:30 p.m. CT while (2) UMSL and (6) CSLA have the match preceeding at 4:00 p.m. CT. Winner of each match will meet each other at the NCAA DII National Championship on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 4:00 p.m. 

WT HEAD COACH KENDRA POTTS

Kendra Potts is in her fifth season at the helm of Lady Buff Volleyball with an overall 123-23 (.842) record and 67-12 (.848) in league play.  Potts led her alma mater to the program's 4th NCAA National Championship after capturing the South Central Regional title to become the sixth head coach in program history to guide WT to the Elite Eight. Coach Potts was named the AVCA Division II National Head Coach of the Year following her 33-4 record and 26 game winning streak for the 2022 season. This is the third consecutive year that Potts has led the Lady Buffs to the Elite Eight National tournament. 

MAKE IT A DOUBLE-DOUBLE

Four players have recorded double-doubles this season with Torrey Miller, Ainsley Malis, Blair Moreland and Emma Becker totaling 20. Torrey Miller leads the category with 12 on the season which includes 189  kills and 167 digs. Malis is second with five followed by Moreland with two and Becker with one, her first in her career at WT coming from the last regular season match against Texas A&M International with 15 kills and 10 digs.

SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL TOURNAMENT

The Lady Buffs walked away with the NCAA DII South Central Regional title after a sweep over UT Tyler in the quarterfinals, a four set fight against DBU and a five set thriller over #8 MSU Denver. The Box set the record for the second largest crowd (1,658) while playing MSU Denver and the sixth largest (1,438) while playing DBU in the NCAA Regional Tournament.