PULLMAN, Wash. -- 24th-ranked Washington State volleyball (22-9, 14-6 Pac-12) gets set for its seventh-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance as it will play UNLV (26-4, 17-1 MW) on Thursday night from Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego, Calif.  Thursday's match will be televised live on ESPN+ beginning at 5 p.m. (PST).

The Cougars, making their 17th overall appearance in the tournament, swept last year's first round matchup over Northern Colorado and head into this year's first round matchup having won five of their last six matches to close out the regular season.  UNLV will be making its fourth all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament and head into this year's tourney as the 2022 Mountain West Conference regular-season champions.

Match Info:
>> NCAA Tournament first round vs UNLV (26-4, 17-1 MW)  |  ESPN +
>> Thursday, Dec. 1 // First serve: 5:00 p.m. (PST)
>> San Diego, Calif.  // Jenny Craig Pavilion
>> Live Stats //wsucougars.com/sports/womens-volleyball
>> Listen Live // Pullman Radio KQQQ, 1150 AM (Steve Grubbs pXp)
>> Full match notes (PDF)

Cougar Quick Notes:
>> WSU had four players named all-conference as Magda Jehlarova (first team), Pia Timmer (first team), Laura Jansen (honorable mention), and Katy Ryan (honorable mention) each received postseason accolades from the Pac-12 Monday.
>> Jehlarova is eighth in the nation and the Pac-12 leader with 1.50 blocks/set this season.  She is also seventh in the NCAA and second in the Pac-12 with 168 total blocks.
>> Jehlárová (584) passed Claire Martin (577) for second all-time at WSU in career total blocks and including this season, has three of the four highest single-season attack percentages in Cougar volleyball history.
>> Timmer averaged 4.53 kills/set over the final nine matches and tied for the team lead with 37 aces.
>> The Cougs are 14-16 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with five tournament wins under Head Coach Jen Greeny.
>> Thursday's matchup with UNLV will be the Cougars' sixth neutral contest of the season with WSU going 4-1 in its first five neutral matches.
>> Washington State has twice reached the NCAA Elite Eight, first in 1996 and again in 2002, its two best finishes all-time in the tournament.
>> WSU is 18-1 on the season when winning the opening set and a perfect 15-0 when winning the first two.
>> Washington State's 14 conference wins were the most under Head Coach Jen Greeny and tied for the most in program history.
>> The Cougars' .281 hitting percentage is the second-highest in WSU volleyball history for a single season while their 1.67 aces/set would rank as the sixth-most all-time.
>> WSU combined for 41 total blocks over their last three matches and had 14 matches with 10 or more blocks as a team.  The Cougs had a season-high 15 blocks as a team vs. Duke (8/26) in their season opener.
>> The Cougars are 17-1 when hitting .300 or better and set a program record in the first week of the season with a .554 hitting percentage against Rider (8/26).
>> Karly Basham, the Cougars' starting libero in all 31 matches thus far, leads WSU with 3.11 digs/set and has 10 matches with five or more assists this season. She has posted double-digit digs in four of the last five matches including a season-high 22 vs. UCLA.
>> The Cougs' starting setter, Argentina Ung, averaged double-digit assists/set (10.11) in her first season running the Cougs' offense. She has 10 matches this season with double-digit digs and had a career-high 18 digs on Oct. 2 against Stanford.
UNLV Notes
>> Series: UNLV leads 6-1
>> While the Cougs have only played UNLV seven times going into Thursday's match, the two met up last season at the Rebels' home tournament during non-conference play.  UNLV won, 25-22, 21-25, 25-19, 25-22.
>> The Runnin' Rebels head into the 2022 NCAA Tournament as the '22 Mountain West Conference regular season championships after a 17-1 record in conference play.
>> UNLV had a 17-match winning streak snapped in its Mountain West Tournament first-round match vs Utah State.
>> Dating back to 2019, UNLV has gone 83-16 in its last 99 matches. The Rebels have won 26 of 30 matches this season and 52 of its last 62.
>> Fifth-year head coach Dawn Sullivan tallied her 100th career win in a four-set win over San Jose State.
>> Overall, UNLV is 11-5 in postseason competition, including Fall 2021 where it secured the National Invitational Volleyball Championship title.
>> The Rebels are 2-3 in NCAA Tournament play, with a 3-1 upset victory in the 2016 first round over 22nd-ranked Utah.

Up Next:
The winner of Thursday's match will advance through the San Diego quarter of the bracket to play the winner of No. 3 San Diego and Northern Colorado.  That second-round match will also be hosted by second-seeded San Diego and is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m. (PST).

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