ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– The Navy volleyball team will play Michigan Friday afternoon in Pittsburgh in an NCAA Tournament first-round match.  The Mids learned their NCAA opponent and destination Sunday evening during the nationally televised announcement of the bracket.
 
Navy, 23-9 on the year, co-winners of the Patriot League regular season (for the second time) and winners of the program's first Patriot League Tournament title, will face Michigan for the first time.  The Wolverines enter the post season with a 22-9 overall record and an 11-9 mark in the Big Ten.  Michigan placed seventh in its conference this year.
 
The Mids and the Wolverines will play at 4 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center on the Pittsburgh campus.
 
The winner of that match will play the winner of the Pittsburgh-Iona match on Saturday in the second round.  The Panthers are the No. 12 seed in the 64-team field (only the top-16 teams are seeded) after compiling an overall record of 29-1 and winning the ACC with a 17-1 record.
 
Iona will represent the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in the field.  The Gaels posted an overall record of 20-7 and won the MAAC regular season with a 16-2 record before also winning the conference tournament.
 
Navy has not faced Pittsburgh since 1983 (0-3 all time) and has split two previous matches against Iona with the most recent coming in 2016.
 
The Mids will be making their first trip to the NCAA Tournament as a Division I program (since 1991). 
 
"It was super exciting to see 'Navy' appear on the television screen," said team captain Darby Minton (Sr., Chino Hills, Calif.).  "I think a lot of us were more anxious than we thought we would be just because we have never been in this position before.  The suspense and waiting to see our name was painful.  We really had no idea who we would be matched against."
 
Minton's fellow members of the Class of 2019 began their career with a 2-17 overall record and winless through their first six Patriot League matches.  They are now the winningest class in Navy Division I history and the first to take the program to the post season on this level.
 
"Honestly, no (on whether they thought as freshmen this would be possible)," said Minton.  "In plebe year, it was always the goal, but it did not seem reachable until this season.  With as strong of a senior class that we have and with the talent we have in the younger classes, I knew it was possible.  It was a rocky start (to our careers), but it is super cool to say we made it through that year and now we are on top."
 
Navy enters the NCAA Tournament under first-year head coach Paco Labrador, who took Wittenberg to the NCAA Division II Tournament 15 times in his 15 seasons.
 
"You can make a big event out of this," said Labrador in comparing past bracket reveals he was part of.  "It is Sunday night, a nationally televised event, it is a time in which everyone can get back together again and watch and make it a memorable moment.  It is a very memorable moment the day you see your team put up there on the bracket.  It is a big deal for these Mids and it is a big deal for our program."
 
Navy previously made three trips to the NCAA Tournament as a Division II program in the late 80s.
 
Ticket and multimedia information for the event will be announced in the coming days.