The 2016 NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament officially begins Thursday, Dec. 2, when Northern Iowa takes on Creighton in Lawrence, Kansas, at 4 PM CT. With 32 matches taking place over two days, you'll have a tough time catching them all (although we certainly plan to give it try), so here are our picks for the top matches to watch, and Katie and Megan's predictions for which team will advance to the second round.

Purdue vs. Iowa State

SITE: Missouri (Columbia, MO)
WHEN: Thursday, Dec. 1, 4:30 PM CT WATCH



Iowa State didn't make much noise in the early part of the 2016 season, but the Cyclones finished strong with an upset of Texas in the second-to-last week of Big 12 play. Purdue kicked off the year with early victories over Washington State, Stanford, and Kansas but failed to keep that momentum rolling throughout the Big Ten season, finishing league play 8-13.

Katie's pick: Purdue
Megan's pick: Iowa State

American vs. No. 12 Michigan

SITE: Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI)
WHEN: Thursday, Dec. 1, 7:30 PM ET
​WATCH



American has been a bracket-buster in recent years, and Michigan has been inconsistent this season. However, Michigan is hosting, and the Wolverines ended the regular season with an upset of Michigan State, so it will be a huge challenge for the American squad.

Katie's pick: Michigan
Megan's pick: Michigan

Pitt vs. Dayton

SITE: Penn State (State College, PA) 
WHEN: Friday, Dec. 2, 5 PM ET
WATCH



Dayton went undefeated on its way to winning the Atlantic 10 conference title. Pitt finished fifth in the ACC with a 15-5 conference record but has big wins this year over Colorado State, Michigan, and North Carolina.

Katie's pick: Pitt
Megan's pick: Dayton

Wichita State vs. TCU

SITE: Nebraska (Lincoln, NE)
WHEN: Friday, Dec. 2, 4:30 PM CT



Texas Christian has had a good season, collecting wins over North Carolina, Duke, Iowa State, Kansas State, and Baylor, but the Horned Frogs are 3-8 on the road in 2016. With Wichita State only having to travel four hours for this first round match, we expect to see more black and yellow than purple in the Devaney Center. No matter who wins, one of these teams will face No. 1 seed Nebraska on Saturday night.

Katie's pick: TCU
Megan's pick: TCU

Hawaii vs. USC

SITE: Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN)
WHEN: Friday, Dec. 2, 4:30 PM CT



The ability to deal with the challenges of long travel and competing on the road will play a huge role in this match. Hawaii's journey to Minnesota will be significantly longer than USC's, but the Rainbow Wahine are used to that road warrior life and have a 7-1 away record this season. USC lost its last three matches of the regular season, finishing the year 18-13 overall. If Hawaii wins this one, it will mark the first time since 1989 USC has lost in the first round.

Katie's pick: Hawaii
Megan's pick: Hawaii

Baylor vs. San Diego

SITE: UCLA (Los Angeles, CA)
WHEN: Friday, Dec. 2, 5:30 PM PT



Baylor is a dangerous team with a history of pulling off upsets in the tournament. San Diego, on the other hand, was ranked in the top 10 for most of the 2016 regular season and arguably could have been one of the top 16 seeds in the tournament. Baylor will need an out-of-this world performance from outside hitter Katie Staiger to move on to the second round. With Staiger averaging 5.53 kills per set, fourth highest in the nation, that's certainly not outside the realm of possibilities, however.

Katie's pick: San Diego
Megan's pick: Baylor

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