Thousands of volleyball fans are watching Wichita State University this weekend as they host the first and second rounds of the NCAA championship.
This is the 11th year Wichita State has qualified for the NCAA tournament.
WSU was named as a host last Sunday, but volleyball spokeswoman Tami Cutler says the school has been preparing for months—just in case.
“It’s been in the works behind the scenes since September where we’ve been prepping for it, getting staff prepared for it, hiring people, all the things we need to get ready for this tournament and to have three teams visit our arena along with the NCAA," she says.
With around 6,000 people expected to fill the Charles Koch Arena, Cutler says fans should expect heightened security, including metal detectors.
She says the events are good experience for when Wichita hosts the NCAA men’s basketball championship this spring.
"It's really good for all of the staff here as well because we are able to get this NCAA tournament under our belts," Cutler says. "So when March does come around, everybody has that NCAA tournament experience as well."
Wichita State beat Radford Friday night to move onto the second round of the tournament. They'll play Missouri Saturday night at 7 p.m.
This story was updated at 10 a.m. Saturday with new information.
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