ST. PAUL -- Just like that, half of the teams in the NCAA Tournament's St. Thomas regional have concluded their seasons after four matches yesterday. The University of Northwestern was one of the four teams to advance to Friday's regional semifinal round and will face Coe College at 4:30 p.m. in St. Thomas's Schoenecker Arena in the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex. The Eagles defeated 13th-ranked Nebraska Wesleyan University, the region's top seed, 3-1 on Thursday, while the Rams from Coe upset No. 18 Augsburg College in a 3-1 finish.

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Northwestern Notes (click here for UNW's overall tournament notes):
Thursday's 3-1 win over No. 13 Nebraska Wesleyan was the Eagles' second NCAA Tournament victory in the program's short five-year history of earning NCAA postseason berths. Never before Thursday had Northwestern defeated a No. 1 seed. It was the Eagles' first-ever win over the Prairie Wolves in the two teams' three-match history.

Thursday was Faith Vander Galien (Chanhassen, Minn./Southwest Christian)'s 11th match with 10 or more kills as the junior recorded 15. UNW is 9-2 in 2014 when the middle hitter is in double digits for kills.

Senior Cari Miller (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) has put together an impressive statistical line during the NCAA Tournament. In five career matches (20 sets), Miller has amassed 57 kills, averaging 4.75 per set with a .362 hitting rate.

Northwestern is 3-1 all-time against its Friday opponent, Cornell. The Eagles and Rams squared off on Sept. 13 of this year, with UNW winning in four sets on Cornell's home court in a weekend tournament. Hallie Mueth (Sheffield, Iowa/West Fork) had a Northwestern-high 16 kills in that match, with Lindsey Peterson (Sheffield, Iowa/West Fork) adding 13 kills. Mariah Brandly led the Rams with 15 kills.

Peterson was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Central Region Honorable Mention squad on Thursday.

Northwestern had six players selected to the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) All-Conference First Team on Thursday morning. Peterson was named the UMAC Rookie of the Year, while senior Lizzy Potratz (Oshkosh, Wis./Valley Christian ) was voted the league's Defensive Player of the Year. Beth Wilmeth was selected as the UMAC Coach of the Year, and the Eagles were awarded the UMAC Team Sportsmanship honor.

Cornell Notes:
Cornell received 48 votes in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll, which would place the Rams 30th in the nation.

24-6 overall record (10-0 Midwest Conference)

Three-time defending MWC regular-season and tournament champion

Fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance (0-3 record):
 2013 – lost 3-0 to #6 St. Benedict
 2012 – lost 3-2 to eventual NCAA champion #8 St.  Thomas
 2011 – lost 3-2 to #16 Elmhurst in program's NCAA debut

Roster features five seniors (Kylea Weber, Taylor Dicus, Sabrina Hargis, Katie Sickelka, Kelsey Gaillot) that played in all three previous NCAA Tournaments

36-0 against MWC competition since rejoining the league in 2012

108-7 record in sets played against MWC opponents since 2012

Carried substantial winning streaks into four NCAA Tournaments – 15 matches (2014), 16 matches (2013), 12 matches (2012), 14 matches (2011)

57-6 record in matches played in October and November since 2011

3-1 record this season against teams in regional field (St. Thomas 1-0, UW-Stevens Point 1-0, Coe 1-0, Northwestern 0-1)

4-4 record this season against teams in NCAA field

Coach Jeff Meeker owns 311-239 career record in 17 collegiate seasons

Cornell placed a program-best five players on 2014 All-Midwest Conference Volleyball Teams (Kylea Weber – 1st Team, Player of the Year, Taylor Dicus – 1st Team, Lauren Ahart – 1st Team, Mariah Brandly – 2nd Team, Diamond Boyd – 2nd Team)

Jeff Meeker named MWC Coach of the Year for third consecutive season

Cornell's six-player senior class owns a 100-27 career record

Rams are ranked No. 5 in Midwest Region Poll

Kylea Weber is Cornell's all-time leader for digs (2,437), which ranks fourth among all active Division III players

Taylor Dicus is Cornell's all-time leader for blocks (555), which leads all active Division III player

?Taylor Dicus ranks fourth on Cornell's career lists in kills (1,192)Cornell has three players with over 1,000 career assists (Sabrina Hargis – 2,112, Kelsey Gaillot – 1,474, Katherine Devlin – 1,037)

Cornell ranks fourth in Division III with 2.36 blocks per set