TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Florida A&M volleyball’s automatic bid into the NCAA tournament has turned into a meeting with Texas in the first round. The Longhorns are a number-one seed and the third ranked team in the entire tournament.
The Rattlers enjoyed a selection show watch party on the floor of the Al Lawson Center on Sunday night.
Florida A&M earned its bid into the tournament after winning the SWAC tournament for the fourth time in five seasons. The team became the first-ever eight-seed to win the trophy.
In their four recent NCAA appearances, all against top teams, the Rattlers haven’t been able to win a set. Rattlers Head Coach Gokhan Yilmaz says those experiences have been a part of the process.
“I think this is the progression and this is what we’re building here,” he said. “Eight years ago when we started, we only had seven players on the team. Our goal was to have a complete team and graduate players and then our goal became to win a championship. Now we won four of the five. So now our goal is to get used to playing these top teams, so in the future we have a chance to win a set and hopefully win a match.”
The match against Texas is set for Friday night.
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