Cyclones Win 1st Round NCAA Tournament Game

We don't usually talk about sports other than basketball and football here at WRNL, but any time a Cyclone team wins a first round game in an NCAA tournament, it's worth talking about. (It also has the added benefit of helping me justify my Clone Zone subscription to myself, but that's a whole different story.)

The Cyclone volleyball team, ranked #4 in the country, hosted the UW-Milwaukee Panthers tonight at Hilton Coliseum. The Panthers qualified for the tournament by winning the Horizon League tournament, and were undefeated (16-0) in league play.

Despite trailing for a majority of the second game, the Cyclones won in 3 straight games, 25-19, 25-23, and 25-23. The Cyclones continually did just enough to outpace the Panthers, and the first two game points were thrilling volleys that each contained a half dozen spikes and countering digs. Jamie Straube led the Cyclones with 15 Kills and 4 Blocks, while Alison Landwher served up 35 Assists and 10 digs of their own. Full interactive stats can be found here.)

The Cyclones will face Miami (FL) in the second round tomorrow night, who beat Northern Illinois 3 games to 1 earlier in the night. The winner of that match will advance to a sweet 16 berth in MInneapolis next Friday, likely against the #13 ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers. (Full bracket can be found here.)