LA JOLLA, Calif. - For the seventh consecutive season, the UC San Diego women's volleyball team has earned a berth in the postseason and will head to Hawaii to compete in the eight-team NCAA Division II West Regional, hosted by BYU-Hawaii.

UCSD will serve as the eighth-seed in the West and will open play against BYU-Hawaii, the top seed, on Thursday, Nov. 29 at 9:30 p.m. (Pacific Time).

"We're excited that our season isn't over," said UCSD head coach Ricci Luyties. "The players are looking forward to the challenge of the tournament and have confidence that they can win in any situation."

Joining the Tritons and Seasiders at the Cannon Activities Center in Laie will be Grand Canyon (No. 2 seed), Cal State San Bernardino (No. 3 seed), Western Washington (No. 4 seed), Sonoma State (No. 5 seed), Central Washington (No. 6 seed) and San Francisco State (No. 7 seed).

The winner of the UCSD/BYUH match will face the winner of the WWU/SSU match in a semifinal on Friday, Nov. 30 at 9:30 p.m. (Pacific Time). The West Region title match will be contested on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 9:00 p.m. (Pacific Time).

BYU-Hawaii (PacWest), Cal State San Bernardino (CCAA) and Western Washington (GNAC) all gained automatic bids into the postseason by winning their respective conference regular season titles. The remaining five squads received at-large selections.

UC San Diego brings a 20-10 overall record to the West Regional. The Tritons wrapped up their regular season Saturday with a five-set win at league opponent Cal State Monterey Bay. BYU-Hawaii is 21-3 overall and went undefeated in the PacWest, finishing with a 16-0 mark.

BYUH is ranked fifth while UCSD is receiving votes in the most recent AVCA national poll.

"BYU Hawaii is a very good team and we'll be playing in front of their home crowd," said Luyties. "But, with our tough conference schedule, I feel like we've been playing good teams every weekend and we'll be ready."

The Tritons and Seasiders have met four times in the past, with UCSD holding a 3-1 record in the series. The last match-up came on Sept. 5, 2008 in La Jolla with the Tritons taking a 3-1 victory. The two squads have never played each other in the postseason.

A total of 64 teams from eight different regions will be gunning for a national title. The eight regional winners advance to the NCAA Championship, hosted by West Florida in Pensacola, Fla., Dec. 6-8.

UCSD advanced to the semifinals of the 2011 West Regional, hosted by Cal State San Bernardino.

NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball West Regional
November 29 - December 1, 2012
Cannon Events Center • Laie, Hawaii
Hosted by BYU-Hawaii
Quarterfinals • Thursday, Nov. 29
Match 1: No. 3 seed Cal State San Bernardino (22-8) vs. No. 6 Central Washington (21-7), 2:00 p.m.
Match 2: No. 2 seed Grand Canyon (23-5) vs. No. 7 San Francisco State (21-8), 4:30 p.m.
Match 3: No. 4 seed Western Washington (23-3) vs. No. 5 Sonoma State (22-8), 7:00 p.m.
Match 4: No. 1 seed BYU-Hawaii (21-3) vs. No. 8 UC San Diego (20-10), 9:30 p.m. 

Semifinals • Friday, Nov. 30
Match 5: Winner of Match 1 vs. winner of Match 2, 7:00 p.m. 
Match 6: Winner of Match 3 vs. winner of Match 4, 9:30 p.m.

Final • Saturday, Dec. 1 
Match 7: Winner of match 5 vs. winner of Match 6, 9:00 p.m.

* all times Pacific

-- UCSDtritons.com --