After winning its first ever Big South Championship with a 3-0 win over Liberty, the High Point University volleyball team will head to Durham, N.C. to play No. 12 Duke in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship on Friday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m.

“After winning the Big South Tournament I didn't think it could get any better,” said head coach Jason Oliver. “But to play a prestigious volleyball program like Duke, so close to home means the world to this program. We are hopeful the High Point University community will come out to support us as we show what we are capable of on the biggest stage in NCAA volleyball.”

HPU earned the second seed in the Big South Tournament after finishing the regular season with a 19-12 (13-3 BSC) record. The Panthers earned wins over No. 7 Radford and No. 6 Charleston Southern before battling No. 1 Liberty in the title match. HPU won the game 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-23) in its first ever appearance in the championship game.

Senior Audie Gonzalez earned Tournament MVP honors after leading the Panthers with a double-double (12 kills, 10 digs) in the championship game. She averaged 4.4 kills per set in the tournament. Senior Megan Smith and freshman Maddie Simpson also earned All-Tournament accolades.

High Point was 1-11 in the tournament entering this season, with its lone win coming over Radford in 2008.
The Blue Devils (24-6, 16-4 ACC) earned the No. 12 overall seed and will host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The winner of the Duke-High Point showdown will face the winner of the Ohio and Penn matchup – also played in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Friday – on Saturday, December 4 at 7 p.m.

Tickets are available for both rounds or for single sessions. Adult packages run for $10, student packages for $6 and children's packages for $4. Single session adult tickets will cost $7, students $5 and children $4. To purchase tickets, contact the Duke ticket office at (919) 668-5726. Single session tickets will not be available until Friday.

Duke will make its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and ACC-leading 16th NCAA postseason trip overall. Led by ACC Player of the Year Kellie Catanach and ACC Coach of the Year Jolene Nagel, the Blue Devils (24-6, 16-4 ACC) won the ACC Championship and own the No. 13 spot in the NCAA RPI.