NCAA volleyball: WMU thumps Auburn as No. 7 seeds lose; no major upsets as tourney begins

Oregon’s Kara McGhee can only chicken wing as teammate Hannah Pukis and Southeastern Louisiana’s Ansley Tullis look on/Stephen Burns photo

Western Michigan not only knocked out Auburn, it opened play Thursday by sweeping the Tigers right out of the NCAA Tournament.

There were no other significant upsets among the 16 first-round matches, although Yale took a set off Penn State, Wright State took one off Louisville and Texas A&M did the same at Texas. Three of the four regional No. 7 seeds, including Auburn, lost.