INDIANAPOLIS – The University of Northwestern received an invitation to its fifth consecutive NCAA Division III Volleyball Tournament on Monday morning. The Eagles will play Nebraska Wesleyan University in their first round match at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. on Thursday, Nov. 13, with the first serve going up at 12:30 p.m.



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Northwestern won the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament on Saturday night, defeating the University of Minnesota Morris 3-0 to claim the league's automatic qualifier in the NCAA postseason. UNW and the University of St. Thomas are the only Minnesota schools to be selected to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last five years. UNW is 23-10 overall with seven UMAC regular season championships in the 11 years that Beth Wilmeth has been at the team's coaching helm. In those 11 years, the Eagles have won 20 or more matches nine times.

Nebraska Wesleyan, ranked No. 13 in the NCAA Division III by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (ABCA), went 12-0 in NCAA play and received an at-large bid into the tournament. The Prairie Wolves, who are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010, are dually affiliated with both the NCAA and NAIA, having gone 22-6 overall in 2014. Nebraska Wesleyan is a member of the NAIA's Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) and is the only school in the nation with the NCAA/NAIA dual affiliation. Since there are no NCAA Division III schools within three hours of Lincoln, Neb., the NAIA membership helps the Prairie Wolves program manage its travel budget and missed class time. Like all other Division III programs, Nebraska Wesleyan does not offer athletics-based financial aid to its students.

Northwestern and Nebraska Wesleyan have played three times in the two programs' history, with the Prairie Wolves taking both matches, the last of which came in 2009. The Eagles and Prairie Wolves have just two common opponents this season. Both teams defeated Concordia-Moorhead; Nebraska Wesleyan defeated Wisconsin-Superior while the Eagles lost to the Yellowjackets. The Prairie Wolves have three wins against AVCA Top 25 opponents, while the Eagles have one Top 25 victory.

The St. Thomas regional features six other teams including the host-Tommies, Cornell College, Augsburg, Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Saint Benedict, and Coe. If Northwestern was to win on Thursday, the Eagles would face the winner of Cornell vs. Augsburg on Friday at 4:30 p.m. Ticket prices (per day) are $7 for adults and $4 for children.