ST. LOUIS – For the first time ever the fourth-ranked University of Missouri-St. Louis volleyball team has been selected as the top seed and will host the NCAA Midwest Region Tournament as announced in the NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Selection Show on Monday night. The Tritons will face eighth-seeded Missouri S&T in the quarterfinal on Nov. 30 at 5 p.m.
UMSL, who was ranked first in each of the last two Region Rankings, held onto the top spot in the region but fell from second to fourth in the AVCA Poll.
The Tritons have made it into the NCAA Tournament field seven times including four straight under head coach
Ryan Young. UMSL is the defending Midwest Region champion and advanced to the national semifinals last season.
The tournament field is comprised of five teams from the GLVC, two from the GLIAC and one from the G-MAC. UMSL is joined by GLVC Tournament champion Lewis as the third seed, Quincy as the four seed, Rockhurst is the six seed and eighth-seeded Missouri S&T. Lewis received the GLVC's automatic bid while UMSL, Quincy, Rockhurst and S&T all earned at-large bids.
Ferris State, the GLIAC Tournament champion, earned the second seed while fifth-seeded Grand Valley State, the GLIAC regular season champion, earned an at-large selection. Hillsdale claimed the G-MAC Tournament crown to earn an automatic bid and the seventh seed in the regional.
The Tritons and Miners will meet for the third time this season with UMSL winning the first two matches in four sets.
2023 NCAA Midwest Region Tournament quarterfinal pairings
Quarterfinals, Thursday, November 30 – St. Louis, Mo. (Mark Twain Building)
12 p.m. – No. 3 Lewis (26-6) vs. No. 6 Rockhurst (21-7)
2:30 p.m. – No. 2 Ferris State (25-7) vs. No. 7 Hillsdale (27-6)
5 p.m. – No. 1 UMSL (30-1) vs. No. 8 Missouri S&T (18-10)
7:30 p.m. – No. 4 Quincy (24-5) vs. No. 5 Grand Valley State (26-4)
Semifinals, Friday, December 1, - St. Louis, Mo. (Mark Twain Building)
5 p.m. – Lewis/Rockhurst winner vs. Ferris State/Hillsdale winner
7:30 p.m. – UMSL/S&T winner vs. Quincy/Grand Valley winner
Championship, Saturday, December 2, - St. Louis, Mo. (Mark Twain Building)
7 p.m. – Semifinal winners
