The Michigan volleyball team opens NCAA Tournament play in Seattle on Thursday, facing opening-round host Washington.

The Wolverines, making their fifth straight tournament appearance, will be looking to turn around a recent slump. After starting the season 18-2, winning seven of their first eight Big Ten contests and reaching No. 13 in the national rankings, Michigan lost seven of its last 12 regular season games.

"We have a tough task ahead of us, and that is reflective of our play the past few weeks,” Michigan coach Mark Rosen said in a release. “We are ready to go in and compete against a really good Washington team that played in a great conference."

Washington (21-8) swept Oregon and Oregon State over the weekend to finish fifth in the Pac-10 Conference.

"I think our team is in a good place," Washington coach Jim McLaughlin said. "We have some momentum going in. Every match is tough in the NCAA tournament, so we just have to play how we are capable, and eliminate the distractions."

The winner of the Michigan-Washington game, scheduled for 10:30 p.m. EST, will play the winner of Hawaii vs. Portland on Friday for a spot in a regional semifinal.

Hawaii (28-2) is the No. 15 seed in the 64-team tournament.

Michigan (23-9) is one of eight Big Ten teams to be invited to the NCAA Tournament. This is just the second time, along with 1999, that eight conference teams have been selected.

Penn State (26-5), the No. 4 national seed and three-time defending champion, leads the Big Ten’s representatives along with No. 8 seed Illinois (22-8), No. 10 Minnesota (24-8), No. 16 Purdue (21-10), Indiana (21-11), Northwestern (19-12) and Ohio State (22-11).

Michigan tied Purdue for fifth-place in the final Big Ten standings with a 12-8 record.