Lopers Ranked 5th in Central Region; NCAA Selection Show Sunday Night
Kearney, Neb. – The 12th-ranked Nebraska Kearney volleyball team heads to St. Joseph, Mo., this weekend in search of its sixth MIAA Tournament title.
This year’s eight-team event is being played at a neutral site – the St. Joseph Civic Arena – Thursday through Saturday. UNK (26-4), the second seed, faces hometown Missouri Western (11-17) at noon in the tourney’s first match. The Griffons are on a three-match win streak that includes a four-set victory over No. 20 Washburn.
All matches can be viewed on The MIAA Network and heard on The River 93.1/106.9 KRVN FM with live stats available as well. For the bracket and more information go to the tourney webpage.
The Lopers downed Mo West on Oct. 22nd in Kearney (-23, -23, -19) while taking care of the Griffs in four sets (-23, 23-25, -15, -23) on Sept. 23rd in St. Joe. UNK is now 49-14 all-time vs. MWSU.
The Lopers previously won this event in 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 while also taking the 2021 MIAAA Tournament. That event was part of a non-countable spring season that helped replace the canceled 2020 fall campaign. Last year UNK beat Central Oklahoma in a first-round match held at the Health & Sports Center before falling to top-seed Central Missouri in the semifinals.
The UNK/Mo West winner plays Friday at 5 p.m. against either Central Missouri (19-11) or Pittsburg State (16-13). Finals are set for Saturday at 6 p.m. In the most recent Central Region Rankings, the Lopers are fifth with UCM seventh. The 64-team NCAA field will be announced Sunday at 9:30 p.m.
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