UNK Volleyball: #13 Lopers Vs. #3 Golden Bears for Sixth Time in the NCAA's

UNK Looks to Avenge Last Year’s Five-Set Loss to Concordia-St. Paul

Kearney, Neb. – The now 13th-ranked Nebraska Kearney volleyball team is in Wayne this Friday afternoon for the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The uber-tough Central Regional features eight nationally-ranked teams with the seventh-seeded Lopers (28-5) facing 3rd-ranked and second-seeded Concordia-St. Paul (26-5). First serve from Rice Auditorium will be no sooner than 2:30 p.m.; the first match begins at noon. All matches throughout the weekend can be viewed live via the NSIC Network or the MIAA Network with Loper matches also heard live on The River 93.1/106.9 KRVN FM. Live stats are also available. Nine-time national champions, the CU Golden Bears beat UNK, 3-2, last year in the second round of the Central Regional in Warrensburg, Mo. The Lopers rallied from a 2-0 hole but then fell behind 10-4, 11-9 and 13-8 in the fifth set before losing, 15-12. Four Golden Bears had double digit kill totals that day and each is back in sophomore outside/right sides Sophia Anderson (15) and Emma Schmidt (17) and junior outside/right sides Jasmine Mulvihill (10) and Sydney Mattson (11). Schmidt hit .382 to reach her team-high kill total while also supplying 13 digs. Concordia ended the long match with 13 blocks, seven aces and hit 54 points higher than UNK. Mulvihill (3.95) and Schmidt (3.01) leads the team in kills per set on the year with CU hitting .305 as a squad, tops in D2. Alliance outside Emersen Cyza (21) and Kearney middle Bailee Sterling (11) combined for 32 kills in last year's match with UNK recording 12 team blocks. Cyza (3.93) and Sterling (2.81) lead the team in kps this fall with redshirt frehsman setter Peyton Neff first in attack percentage (.352). The Golden Bears are 4-1 all-time against the Lopers in the NCAA's, also picking up wins in 2008, 2010 and 2012. The Blue & Gold, of course, won an epic 2019 Central Regional final at the Health & Sports Center. The winner UNK/CU winner plays again Saturday at 5 p.m. against the winner of Washburn and Minnesota-Duluth. Most NCAA Tournament Wins – Current D2 Members

1. Tampa 79 (36 years)

2. Concordia-St. Paul 73 (18)

3. Cal State San Bernardino 54 (21)

4. West Texas A&M 54 (28)

5. Central Missouri 39 (35)

6. Grand Valley State, Mich. 37 (18)

7. New Haven, Conn. 37 (35)

8. Wheeling, W.V. 36 (16)

9. UNK 33 (25)

10. Florida Southern 31 (32)

11. Barry, Fla. 30 (16)

Friday, Nov. 18 12 p.m. No. 3 Minn.-Duluth vs. No. 6 Washburn 2:30 p.m. No. 2 CU vs. No. 7 UNK 5 p.m. No. 1 NW Missouri vs. No. 5 St. Cloud State 7:30 p.m. No. 1 Wayne vs. No. 8 Harding Saturday, Nov. 19 5 p.m. UMD/WU Winner vs. CU/UNK Winner 7:30 p.m. NW/SCSU Winner Vs. WSC/HU Winner Sunday, Nov. 20 4 p.m. Championship Match