Michigan State (19-11), the host school, and Dayton (25-9) will play in the other first-round match Friday. The winners of the Friday matches will play in the second round on Saturday, Dec. 6, and the winner will advance to the Lincoln regional. Nebraska is one of four pre-determined regional sites this year, joining Florida, Hawaii and Long Beach State.

Top-ranked USC (29-0) earned the tournament's No. 1 seed. Other seeded teams in Nebraska's regional include No. 8 UCLA (21-8) and No. 16 Texas A&M (21-9). Other Big 12 teams in the field include sixth-seeded Kansas State (28-4), Kansas (21-10) and Colorado (21-9).

The Huskers finished the regular season ranked No. 10 in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches poll. NU ended Big 12 Conference play with a 17-3 record and was second in the league standings. NU is led by sophomore middle blocker Melissa Elmer and sophomore outside hitter Jennifer Saleaumua, who were both named first-team All-Big 12. Elmer leads the conference with 1.63 blocks per game, while Saleaumua ranks second in the league with 3.86 digs per game.

Nebraska owns a 54-19 NCAA Tournament record and is 11-4 against teams in this year's tournament.

Valparaiso will be making its first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament after defeating Oral Roberts in five games in the Mid-Con Conference Tournament. The Crusaders won a school-record 27 matches in 2003 en route to winning its first-ever regular-season Mid-Con title. Valparaiso is led by senior Cyndi Norman, the Mid-Con Conference Setter of the Year. Norman ranks second in school history with 4,776 career assists. The Crusaders are coached by Carin Avery, who was named the Mid-Con Coach of the Year.

Like Valpo, Dayton will be making its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. The Flyers secured a bid by winning their first-ever Atlantic 10 championship. Dayton is led by senior outside hitter Erin Treadway, who was the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year. Treadway, who was also named the Atlantic 10 Championship Most Valuable Player, leads the Flyers with 4.25 kills per game. Dayton is led by first-year Coach Tim Horsmon.

Host school Michigan State ended the regular season with a 3-0 loss to Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament on Nov. 29. MSU features Lincoln, Neb., native Nikki Colson. The senior setter averages 13.56 assists per game and has led the Spartans to a .263 hitting percentage this season. Junior outside hitter Kim Schram is among the conference leaders with 4.73 kills per game. Michigan State is led by Coach Chuck Erbe, who is in his 11th season. Erbe has led MSU to 10 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.