NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Notre Dame (19-9, 12-6 ACC) opens the NCAA Tournament against UCLA on Friday, December 6 at the UW Field House in Madison, Wisconsin. First serve from Madison is set for 4:30 p.m. CT/5:30 p.m. ET.
The Irish and Bruins are joined in the Madison Regional by fourth-seeded Wisconsin and Illinois State. The Badgers and Redbirds will meet on Friday following the Notre Dame/UCLA contest. The winners of those two matchups will meet on Saturday, December 7 at 6 p.m. CT/7 p.m. ET with a spot in the round of 16 on the line.
NOTRE DAME vs. UCLA
Location: Madison, Wis. – UW Field House | Buy Tickets
How To Watch: BTN+
Live Stats
Twitter Updates: @NDVolleyball
Game Notes: UCLA
HISTORY VS. UCLA
- Friday marks the fourth-ever matchup between the Irish and UCLA
- The Bruins have won all three previous contests, including a 2-0 mark at neutral sites.
- The Irish and Bruins last met on August 24, 2012, when the top-ranked Bruins earned a four-set victory at the U.S. Bank/Arby’s Tournament in Lincoln, Nebraska.
IRISH IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
- This marks Notre Dame’s 20th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
- Notre Dame owns a 14-19 record in 19 previous trips to the NCAA Tournament.
- The Irish have an all-time record of 11-8 in their first match of the tournament.
- Notre Dame has advanced to at least the NCAA Tournament round of 16 on six occasions.
- Notre Dame’s best finish at the NCAA Tournament came in 1993, when the Irish advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating No. 8 Nebraska and Minnesota.
- The last time the Irish made it to the second weekend of play came in 2005, when Notre Dame defeated Dayton and Northwestern in the first two rounds at home to advance to the round of 16.
- The Irish played Western Kentucky in their last match in the NCAA Tournament on December 1, 2017, in Lexington, Kentucky.
FOUR IRISH EARN ALL-ACC ACCOLADES
- Charley Niego and Zoe Nunez each earned First Team All-ACC accolades, while Sydney Bent and Caroline Meuth were named Second Team All- ACC honorees, the conference announced Monday afternoon (Dec. 2).
- Meuth was also named to the ACC’s All-Freshman Team.
- Bent, Niego and Nunez all earn All-ACC honors for the second consecutive season after being named to the Second Team and All- Freshman Team in 2018.
- Notre Dame’s two First Team All-ACC selections are the most since the Irish joined the conference. The only other Irish to earn First Team All- ACC accolades was Ryann DeJarld in 2017.
HISTORY VS. OTHER MADISON REGIONAL PARTICIPANTS
- Notre Dame has squared off against Wisconsin on 11 previous occasions.
- The Badgers hold an 8-3 advantage in the all-time series against the Irish.
- Notre Dame has won two of the last three matchups against the Badgers, including a four-set home victory on September 11th, 2009 and a road sweep in Madison on September 17, 2011.
- The last meeting between the Irish and Badgers came on August 30th, 2014, when the sixth-ranked Badgers earned a sweep at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
- Notre Dame and Illinois State have met on 18 previous occasions.
- The Irish own a 12-6 record all-time against the Redbirds.
- Notre Dame has won seven consecutive matchups against Illinois State dating back to November 3rd, 1999.
- The last meeting between the Irish and Redbirds came on October 17th, 2005, when the ninth-ranked Irish defeated Illinois State in four sets in Normal, Illinois.
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