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LAWRENCE, Kan. -- The Samford University volleyball team will begin play in the 2016 NCAA Tournament on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs square off against the No. 4-ranked Kansas Jayhawks in an opening-round matchup to be held in front of a sold-out crowd at KU's Horejsi Family Athletics Center. The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
 
"Kansas is one of the top seeds in the tournament and this is another opportunity for our team," said Samford head coach Keylor Chan. "We talk about opening doors and once those doors are open, what we do with that opportunity is up to us. "This is something that's fun. It's the next step in the process of trying to continue to build our program."
 
Samford (21-13) played its way into the NCAA Tournament for the third time in six seasons last week as the Bulldogs defeated the Chattanooga Mocs, 3-1 ( 25-19, 20-25, 25-20, 25-22) in the championship match of the 2016 Southern Conference Tournament held at home in front of a raucous crowd at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
With the win, Samford earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, a feat that has also been achieved by the Bulldogs in both 2011 and 2014.
 
Samford finished its 2016 campaign with a head-turning 14-2 record when playing in the Pete Hanna Center, including eight straight to end the season.
 
The Bulldogs' Erin Bognar was named the SoCon Tournament Most Valuable Player after she finished the championship match with 28 kills and 16 digs. The Bulldogs' dominant senior outside hitter from St. Louis, Missouri, also tallied a hitting percentage of .333.
 
Bognar enters the 2016 postseason ranked No. 10 in the nation in total kills (542), No. 12 in points (580), No. 13 in total attacks (1,399) and 17^th in the country in kills per set (4.48).
 
Samford's Chan has accumulated a 21-13 record in his first season with the Bulldogs and has led his squad to a SoCon Tournament championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Kansas (26-2), the fourth-ranked team in the nation, earned a No. 5 overall seed in the NCAA Championship and is hosting the first and second rounds for the fifth consecutive season. The Jayhawks' seed is the highest in program history after finishing the season as the outright Big 12 Conference champions winners of 14-straight matches entering postseason play.
 
Kansas finished the 2015 season as NCAA semifinalists and is facing Samford for the first time in school history.
 
On the other side of the regional, Northern Iowa and Creighton will square off Thursday at 4 p.m. Winners of the Thursday matches will play Friday at 6:30 p.m., for a spot in the round of 16.
 
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NCAA Championship First & Second Rounds 
Lawrence, Kansas | Horejsi Family Athletics Center
 
Thursday, Dec. 1 (First Round)
Creighton vs. Northern Iowa – 4 p.m. CST
No. 5 Kansas vs. Samford – 6:30 p.m. CST
 
Friday, Dec. 2 (Second Round)
Second Round match – 6:30 p.m. CST

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