SEATTLE (Nov. 13) ­ Seattle Pacific University returns to the NCAA Division II women's volleyball tournament after a four-year absence Thursday night (Nov. 17), when it faces host Cal State L.A. in the first round of the Pacific Regional tournament.

Under first-year coach Chris Johnson, SPU (22-5) won its final 11 matches to claim a share of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship and the automatic berth in the 64-team NCAA field.

Sixteenth-ranked Seattle Pacific, which made the playoffs in 2000 and '01, will be facing No. 12 Cal State L.A. (24-2) for the second time this season. The Golden Eagles, the CCAA co-champion swept the Falcons Sept. 2 in Seattle. SPU is the No. 8 seed in the regional.

Thursday, November 17 -- 1st Round
Match 1: #3 Cal State San Bernardino vs. #6 BYU Hawaii Noon
Match 2: #2 Cal Poly Pomona vs. #7 Central Washington 2:30 p.m.
Match 3: #4 Hawaii Pacific vs. #5 Cal State Bakersfield 5 p.m.
Match 4: #1 Cal State L.A. vs. #8 Seattle Pacific 7:30 p.m.
Friday, November 18 -- Regional Semifinals
Match 5: winner match 1 vs. winner match 2 5 p.m.
Match 6: winner match 3 vs. winner match 4 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 19 -- Regional Final
Match 7: winner match 5 vs. winner match 6 7:30 p.m.