Colorado volleyball players react to the news that CU will be a host to the NCAA's.

Waiting to see their school's name on the big screen at the Broker Inn was essentially a formality for the Colorado volleyball team.

The Buffs finished the season 16-11 and were fifth in the Big 12 Conference. Plus, there was that small matter of beating the No. 1 team in the country.

So Sunday's explosion of cheers, followed by back slapping and hand shaking, wasn't caused by the school's name on the screen. It was caused by the name of the town on the screen.

The words "Boulder, CO" meant the Buffs will host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament this week. Colorado will play No. 21-ranked New Mexico State at 7 p.m. at the Coors Events Center on Thursday night and Colorado State will play defending national champion Washington at 5 p.m. The winners will play Friday night at 7 p.m.

"It will be great to be playing in front of our fans," CU coach Pi'i Aiu said. "It

should be a big help to play in our arena and hopefully we can get a lot of people to come."

This is the first time CU will host an NCAA Tournament game since 1997, Aiu's first year as head coach. The Buffs haven't lost a home NCAA Tournament match and are 5-0 in those games. The Buffs are 11-3 at home this season.

CU submitted a bid to host last month but wasn't expecting it to be accepted. In volleyball, home sites are determined by the home team's record, but also by its location. The brackets are "regionalized," which means the NCAA tries to limit travel as much as possible. It certainly helped Colorado that Colorado State and New Mexico State each made the tournament.

This is the second host bid accepted this fall for Colorado after the soccer team earned the same honor earlier this month.

"I think this just demonstrates that we want to play against the best in all sports," CU athletic director Mike Bohn said.

Aiu and his staff will have to do some scouting before Thursday. They knew little about the No. 21-ranked Aggies (33-3) when the selections were announced, although NMSU did beat perennial power Hawaii this season.

Colorado has played in Fort Collins for the last two NCAA Tournaments. The Buffs lost in the first round in 2004 to Hawaii and in the first round in 2005 to CSU.

"We have played in Fort Collins the last couple years, so it should be a great advantage to play at home," said junior outside hitter Amber Sutherland, who leads CU with 431 kills.

The Buffs were helped by their win over top-ranked Nebraska at home on Nov. 11. That win sent waves through the national volleyball scene and gained the Buffs recognition. And they also gained confidence. That may help after they finished the last four games of the season 2-2.

"We feel like after beating Nebraska that we can play with anyone," Aiu said. "Even in the last ones we lost we went to four or five games, so if we do one or two things different we maybe win those."

After beating a No. 1 this year Colorado could have a chance to beat a No. 1 from last year. Washington won the national title last year after starting the tournament in Colorado. The Huskies (25-4) beat Colorado State (20-9) in the second round last season. This year they are ranked second in the nation behind the Huskers and won the Pac-10.

But Colorado won't have the chance to play Washington unless both teams win in the first round. That's what the Buffs want to make sure to concentrate on.

"We have to make sure to focus on New Mexico State and not think about Washington, or whoever wins," Sutherland said. "We have to think about each game and not look past them to the next game."