INDIANAPOLIS – The Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team is listed in the first NCAA Division II Central Region rankings released Wednesday afternoon by the NCAA national committee.
The rankings include records through Sunday and are placed in alphabetical order for the first release. The Mustangs are 19-4 overall and are currently sit fourth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference standings with a 10-4 record. SMSU has a 19-4 record versus Division II opponents and a 16-4 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 Concordia-St. Paul, St. Cloud State, Wayne State, and Winona State. The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) also has five teams listed in Central Oklahoma, Emporia State, Missouri Western, Nebraska-Kearney and Washburn. 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 Dec. 5-7 or Dec. 6-8. 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 Monday, Nov. 25 at 6:30 p.m. (CST) on NCAA.com.
Region rankings will also be released on Nov. 13 and Nov. 20. The NCAA National Championships will take place on Dec. 12-14, at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
SMSU, ranked No. 16 nationally, continues conference play this weekend with its final two regular season home matches inside the PE Gym. SMSU will take on Minnesota Crookston on Friday at 5 p.m. before facing Bemidji State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
| CENTRAL |
REGION RANKINGS |
IN-REGION |
DII RECORD |
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Central Oklahoma |
19-2 |
23-2 |
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Concordia-St. Paul |
14-1 |
18-4 |
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Emporia State |
15-6 |
15-7 |
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Missouri Western |
16-5 |
19-5 |
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Nebraska-Kearney |
21-1 |
24-1 |
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Southwest Minnesota State |
16-4 |
19-4 |
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St. Cloud State |
17-1 |
21-2 |
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Washburn |
17-3 |
18-4 |
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Wayne State (Nebraska) |
13-5 |
19-5 |
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Winona State |
14-9 |
15-10 |
