INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team is again ranked 10th in the third and final NCAA Division II Central Region rankings released Wednesday afternoon by the NCAA national committee.

The rankings include records through Sunday. The Mustangs are 21-7 overall and finished the regular season tied for fifth in the NSIC with a 13-7 record. SMSU has a 21-7 record versus Division II opponents and a 17-7 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 No. 2 St. Cloud State, No. 5 Winona State, No. 7 Concordia-St. Paul, and No. 8 Wayne State. The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) has four teams ranked with No. 1 Central Missouri, No. 3 Northwest Missouri State, No. 4 Washburn and No. 6 Nebraska-Kearney. The third conference in the region, the Great American Conference (GAC) has one team in the top 10, with Oklahoma Baptist slotting in at No. 9.

The top eight teams in the region will advance to the NCAA Central Region Tournament on December 2-4 or 3-5. 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. 22 at 6:30 p.m. (CT) on NCAA.com.

The NCAA National Championships will take place on Dec. 9-11 at the Bob Martinez Athletic Center in Tampa, Florida.

Southwest Minnesota State, ranked No. 16 nationally, heads to Sioux Falls, S.D., for the NSIC Tournament starting today against the top-seeded St. Cloud State Huskies.

— Content courtesy

of SMSU Athletic Communications