For Immediate Release
Monday, Nov. 20, 2017
NCAA Bracket
NCAA Release

INDIANAPOLIS - For the second time in school history, the Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball program will host the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament, which will be held Nov. 30, Dec. 1 and Dec. 2. The NSIC will have four teams extend their seasons as Concordia-St. Paul, Minnesota Duluth and Northern State will continue their seasons along with SMSU.
 
The eight-team region tournament will be held at the PE Gym on the campus of SMSU with the quarterfinals set for Thursday, Nov. 30, the semifinals on Friday, Dec. 1 and the championship match on Saturday, Dec. 2. Match times will be announced on Tuesday.

SMSU will host eighth-seeded Arkansas Tech out of the Great American Conference in the first round.  Minnesota Duluth earned the fifth seed and will take on fourth seeded Northern State.  NSU swept UMD back on October 28 in Aberdeen. 

On the other side of the bracket second-seeded Concordia-St. Paul will take on seventh-seeded Central Oklahoma from the MIAA.  Third-seeded Nebraska-Kearney will take on sixth seeded Missouri Western in the other quarterfinal match.

Southwest Minnesota State, ranked No. 2 in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll released on Monday, will be making its 14th straight NCAA tournament appearance and 15^th overall in program history. SMSU last hosted the Central Region Tournament in 2010.

CSP has made it into the NCAA Tournament field in all 15 seasons under head coach Brady Starkey and have won 10 Central Region titles during that span. CSP has gone 61-6 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and has collected eight NCAA Division II National Championships, with seven in a row from 2007-14 before claiming the title last season.

Northern State is making its third NCAA appearance and its first since 2013.  NSU lost to CSP in both 2013 and 2006 regional tournaments.  
The winner of the tournament will advance to the Division II Elite Eight held on Dec. 7-9 in Pensacola, Florida.

UMD is making its 20th NCAA appearance after making the regional 14 of the last 15 seasons.