ST. JOSEPH – For the first time in 17 years, Missouri Western volleyball will play in the NCAA tournament.

The Griffons were awarded the No. 6-seed in the central region championship and will open play Thursday, Nov. 30 against the No. 3-seed Nebraska Kearney in Marshall, Minnesota.

Southwest Minnesota State is the host and No. 1 seed in the Central Regional and they’ll face No. 8 seed Arkansas Tech. Concordia-St. Paul is the No. 2 seed and they face No. 7 seed Central Oklahoma out of the MIAA. The No. 4 seed is Northern State and they open with 5th-seeded Minnesota Duluth.

Missouri Western’s run to the NCAA Championships began on Oct. 13 when the team upset then No. 7-ranked Central Oklahoma on the road. The win set off a string of 13-straight victories, culminating in the program’s first-ever MIAA regular season championship, a shared title with Nebraska Kearney.

A tie-breaker left the Griffons with the No. 2-seed in the MIAA Championships, where they advanced to the final, again against Nebraska Kearney. A four-set loss to the No. 6-ranked Lopers left the Griffons NCAA postseason hopes in jeopardy.

Now, the team will make its first NCAA Championship appearance since 2000, facing a team they’ve played three times this season, going 1-2 against Nebraska Kearney.

— MWSU Athletics —