Independent file photo SMSU’s Sarina Smith goes up for a kill during their NSIC Tournament match against the University of Upper Iowa on Nov. 15, 2017. The Mustangs will begin the conference tournament today with a matchup against Wayne State College.

BURNSVILLE – The No. 9 Southwest Minnesota State volleyball team is set to host Wayne State tonight at 8 p.m. in the PE Gym for the first round of the NSIC tournament, announced on Saturday night. SMSU (16-4) is set at the third seed while Wayne State (13-7) is seeded in the sixth spot.

The top eight teams from the NSIC Volleyball Standings advance to the single-elimination tournament. The top four seeds host first round matches today, with the winners advancing to the semifinal and championship rounds on Friday and Saturday in a bracketed format. There will be no reseeding following the first-round matches. The highest remaining seed following the quarterfinals will host the semifinal and championship matches.

Minnesota Duluth (17-3) and Northern State (17-3) are 2018 NSIC Regular Season Co-Champions, with Minnesota Duluth earning the top seed as they defeated Northern State twice during the regular season. SMSU and Concordia-St. Paul tied with 16-4 records in NSIC but SMSU earned the third seed due to strength of schedule.

Sioux Falls (14-6) is the fifth seed followed by Wayne State as the sixth seed (13-7). Minnesota State, Upper Iowa, and St. Cloud State ended the regular season in a three-way tie, all with a 11-9 record in the conference. Seeding came down to strength of schedule which put Minnesota State at the seventh seed and Upper Iowa at eighth to knock St. Cloud out of the tournament.

The winner of the 2018 NSIC Volleyball Tournament will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Central Regional Tournament. The NCAA Volleyball selection show will be streamed online on Sunday, Nov. 11 at 9 p.m. on NCAA.com. The championship quarterfinals, semifinals and final match will take place Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 29-Dec. 1, at the A.J. Palumbo Center in Pittsburgh, hosted by Clarion University of Pennsylvania, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania and SportsPITTSBURGH as part of the NCAA Division II National Championship Fall Festival.

Content courtesy

of SMSU Athletic

Communications