THE FIRST SERVE
The No. 7 Southwest Minnesota State Mustang volleyball team will make its 10th consecutive NCAA appearance and will match-up with No. 4 seed Washburn University in the first round. SMSU enters the tournament with a 23-7 overall record and is coming off a third-place regular season finish in the Northern Intercollegiate Conference with a 17-3 record. Minnesota Duluth earned the No. 1 seed and the right to host the 2013 NCAA Central Region tournament matches. First serve for the 5/4 tournament game between the Mustangs and the Ichabods is slated for 5 p.m. from Duluth, Minn.

SCOUTING REPORT
(4) #8 Washburn -- Washburn finished the 2013 season with an overall record of 31-5 and was crowned co-champions of the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association with its 15-1 conference record. The Ichabods were ranked No. 8 in the final regular season edition of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) top 25 poll. The Ichabods fell in the MIAA tournament title game to Nebraska-Kearney in four sets. WU is led by Marissa Cox and her 474 kills, 3.73 kill per set and .340 attack percentage. Abby Wittman has directed the Ichabod offense to a season average attack percentage of .227, which ranks 37th best in the nation. Wittman and freshman middle blocker Sarah Vicory are the only two Ichabods to start all 36 matches for head coach Chris Herron this season. WU is 11-10 all-time in 10 NCAA tournament appearances, all under 12-year head coach Chris Herron. Washburn is 6-3 all-time in opening round matches and has not faced SMSU in either the tournament or regular season.

NSIC / US BANK TOURNAMENT RECAP
The sixth seeded Wayne State (Neb.) Wildcats dismissed Southwest Minnesota State from the 2013 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference / US Bank tournament in the first round on Nov. 20. SMSU fell in straight sets by scores of 15-25, 21-25, and 31-33.

With the loss, SMSU dropped to 23-7 overall and was eliminated from the tournament, while WSC advanced to the semifinal round only to lose to eventual tournament champions Minnesota Duluth. UMD defeated top-seeded Concordia-St. Paul in straight sets to claim the automatic qualifying spot. SMSU won the tournament for the first time in program history last season by defeating Minnesota State, Minnesota Duluth and Concordia-St. Paul in the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul.  The loss was SMSU's first loss to WSC since the 2011 season. Four Mustangs totaled double-digit kill totals - led by Abbey Thissen's and McKell Anderson's 12, following closely behind were Whitney Burmeister with 11 and Sarah Parker with 10. Emilee Gutzmer had 44 assists, while Rachel Westby finished with a match-high 18 digs.

ALL-TIME IN NCAA TOURNAMENT 
Southwest Minnesota State is 7-10 all-time in the NCAA tournament in its 11 appearances. SMSU has won three straight NCAA first round matches - Colorado School of Mines (2010), Metro State (2011), Truman (2012). The last time SMSU lost an NCAA first round match was in 2009 when SMSU fell to Metro State in five sets. SMSU is 6-4 in NCAA tournament first round matches.

A LOOK AROUND THE REGION
The top seven teams in the Central Region are ranked in the AVCA national poll, including five in the top 10 - UMD is No. 2, CSP is No. 3, UCM is No. 5, SMSU is No. 7, WU is No. 8, UNK is No. 11 and Northern State is No. 22 in the nation. Arkansas Tech, the No. 8 seed and automatic qualifier from the Great American Conference (GAC), is the only non-AVCA ranked team that is featured in the Central Region. The winner of the Central Region will play the winner of the South Region which will be hosted by No. 1 seed Tampa. The winner of the regional will advance to the national tournament, December 12-14 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, hosted by fellow NSIC member school Upper Iowa.

2012 NCAA RECAP
SMSU received the No. 2 seed in the Central Region of the 2012 NCAA Tournament hosted by Concordia-St. Paul in St. Paul., Minn. The Mustangs swept No. 7 seed Truman in the first round to advance to the semifinal round and the right to play No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney. It was there that the Mustangs' season ended as the Lopers were victorious in four sets. The Mustangs finished the season 30-3 overall with a second round exit in the NCAA Tournament. SMSU's 30 wins were the most in a single season under head coach Terry Culhane and most since 1991.