THE FIRST SERVE
The Southwest Minnesota State University Mustang volleyball team will make its debut in the Division II NCAA Championships after winning the Central Region Championship. SMSU defeated No. 4 Nebraska-Kearney, No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul and No. 2 Minnesota Duluth in the region tournament in Duluth, Minn. The Mustangs will enter the tournament 24-9 as they travel to Louisville, Ky., and will play Sonoma State (Calif.) on Thursday, Dec. 4, at 1:30 p.m. CST in the opening round of the NCAA Championships. If SMSU wins it will play in the semifinal round on Friday at 2 p.m. CST, with the championship match set for Saturday at 3 p.m. CST.

OPPONENT AT A GLANCE
SONOMA STATE — The Seawolves earned a ticket to Louisville, Ky., for the first time in program history as they were crowned West Region Champions. Sonoma State defeated a pair of ranked teams as the Seawolves took down No. 25 Alaska Anchorage and No. 22 Cal State San Bernardino in the West Region Tournament.  The Seawolves are 23-6 entering the Championships and they also captured their first-ever California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Volleyball championship earlier this season. Caylie Seitz leads Sonoma State with 465 kills for a 4.47 kill/set average while hitting .337. Courtney Seda powers the offense with 578 assists while Kaitlyn Connolly leads with 466 digs. Rachel Andrews ranks first on the team in blocks with 81 on the year—13 solo. Bear Grassel is in his 13th season at Sonoma State and has compiled an overall record of 212-131, including a 134-47 record in the last six years.

THE HEAD COACH
Terry Culhane is in his 11th season at the helm of the Mustang volleyball team. During his tenure Culhane has directed the Mustangs to an overall record of 284-80, including 166-40 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference matches and 11 NCAA tournament appearances, including seven appearances in the region semifinals and two championship appearance. He begins the 2014­­­ season among the winningest active coaches in NCAA Division II. In 2012, Culhane was named NSIC Coach of thetYear for the third time in his career, he also captured his first career NSIC regular season title and NSIC tournament title.

FIRST TEAM AVCA ALL-REGION
Abbey Thissen was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Central Region first team on Nov. 25. Thissen was named AVCA All-Region honorable mention and AVCA All-America honorable mention last season.