Of all the well-represented cities in the Division I NCAA volleyball tournament that opens Thursday, Watertown isn't doing half bad.
The town of 4,659 on the Crow River is home to sisters Paige and Kate Thibault, who played at Watertown-Mayer during standout prep careers and are two of 29 Minnesotans playing on 19 teams in the tournament this year.
"It's such an eye-opening experience," said Kate, who is in her freshman season at Oregon. "Because we're from Watertown, Minnesota. Who even knows where that is? Nobody has ever heard of that ... but even though we're from a small town we're still capable of making it big."
They are not alone. This is a banner year for interest in college volleyball, and the first round of the tournament will be spread over Thursday and Friday with matches starting at 3 p.m. Thursday, all airing on ESPN+.
If you're a Minnesotan looking to get into this tournament, this is a guide to some key first-round matches featuring players that got their start here. They play for top seeds and title contenders like Nebraska, Wisconsin, Oregon and Kentucky; challengers like Northern Iowa, Auburn and Marquette; and long shots like Fairfield, Grand Canyon and James Madison.
(Not to mention the Gophers.)
Note: Seed numbers are regional. Auburn is seeded seventh in the Pittsburgh regional, Oregon is seeded second in the Wisconsin regional, etc. Each region seeds the top eight teams; remaining teams, like Minnesota, are left unseeded.
THURSDAY
3 p.m. — Western Michigan vs. No. 7 Auburn