INDIANAPOLIS – The Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team is ranked No. 7 in the second NCAA Division II Central Region rankings released Wednesday afternoon by the NCAA national committee.
The Mustangs are 21-5 overall and are currently ranked fourth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference standings with a 13-5 record. SMSU has a 21-5 record versus Division II opponents and a 17-5 record versus in-region opponents. Only matches versus Division II opponents are counted for the NCAA region rankings.
SMSU is one of five NSIC schools to appear in the region rankings along with Wayne State (No. 1), Concordia-St. Paul (No. 2), Minnesota Duluth (No. 3), and St. Cloud State (No. 10). The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) also has five teams listed, in Northwest Missouri State (No. 4), Nebraska-Kearney (No. 5), Central Missouri (No. 6), Central Oklahoma (No. 8), and Washburn (No. 9). The third conference in the region, the Great American Conference (GAC) does not have a team ranked.
The top eight teams in the region will advance to the NCAA Central Region Tournament on Nov. 17-20. Automatic bids are granted to the winners of the MIAA, GAC and NSIC postseason tournaments, with the remaining five spots awarded on an at-large basis. The NCAA Volleyball selection show will be streamed online on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 9 p.m. (CT) on NCAA.com.
Region rankings will also be released on Nov. 2 and Nov. 9. The NCAA National Championships will take place on Dec. 1-3 at the Royal Brougham Pavilion
Southwest Minnesota State, ranked No. 7 nationally, closes its regular season schedule on the road, taking on Upper Iowa at 6 p.m., on Friday before going up against Winona State in its regular season finale at 2 p.m., on Saturday.
NCAA Central Region Rankings (Nov. 2)
| Rank |
Team (Conf) |
In-Reg |
DII Rec |
| 1 |
Wayne State (NSIC) |
21-1 |
26-1 |
| 2 |
Concordia-St. Paul (NSIC) |
18-3 |
23-3 |
| 3 |
Minnesota-Duluth (NSIC) |
19-3 |
23-3 |
| 4 |
Northwest Missouri St. (MIAA) |
15-3 |
21-5 |
| 5 |
Nebraska-Kearney (MIAA) |
18-4 |
22-4 |
| 6 |
Central Missouri (MIAA) |
16-4 |
18-8 |
| 7 |
SMSU (NSIC) |
17-5 |
21-5 |
| 8 |
Central Oklahoma (MIAA) |
21-5 |
23-5 |
| 9 |
Washburn (MIAA) |
14-6 |
20-6 |
| 10 |
St. Cloud State (NSIC) |
15-5 |
21-5 |
