The Nebraska volleyball team will spend the opening weekend of the postseason at home, as the NU Coliseum was chosen as one of 16 sites for NCAA first and second-round play this weekend. Nebraska will make its 27th NCAA Tournament appearance, and will go into NCAAs as the No. 4 overall seed among the 64 teams.

Action begins Friday, Dec. 5, at the NU Coliseum when the UAB Blazers (26-7) of Conference USA take on the Missouri State Bears (23-12) of the Missouri Valley Conference at 4:30 p.m. Nebraska (27-2) will play in the evening’s second match and will take on the Liberty Flames (25-8) of the Big South Conference beginning at 7 p.m. or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first match.

The second round will take place on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 5 p.m., as Friday’s winners will square off for a right to compete in the Seattle (Wash.) Regional. Tickets for the first and second rounds in Lincoln will go on sale tonight at 10 p.m. exclusively on Huskers.com. All-session prices are set at $32 (reserved) and $28 (general admission). Any tickets available after tonight’s sale will be available by calling the NU Ticket Office at 800-8-BIGRED beginning at 8 a.m. on Monday.

The four predetermined regional sites for 2008 are Austin, Texas (Texas), State College, Pa. (Penn State), Fort Collins, Colo. (Colorado State) and Seattle, Wash. (Washington). The 2008 NCAA Championships will take place at Qwest Center Omaha on Dec. 18 and 20. All-session and single-match tickets for the NCAA Championship are available on Ticketmaster.com or by calling any Ticketmaster outlet.

The 2008 season marks the 24th time that Lincoln has played host to first and second-round competition. Last year, Nebraska hosted the first and second rounds at the NU Coliseum before falling in the championship match of the Madison (Wis.) Regional. Nebraska is 73-23 (.760) in 26 previous NCAA Tournament appearances, ranking second among NCAA schools in wins and winning percentage.

The Huskers were one of four Big 12 schools to qualify for the tournament. In addition to the Huskers, Texas was the No. 3 seed overall and is joined in the tournament by Kansas State and Iowa State.