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NAIA WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL OPENING ROUND FREMONT, NEBRASKA
OTHER GAMES TODAY Milligan (Tenn.) at Missouri Baptist
11:00 AM
Georgetown (Ky.) at Indiana Wesleyan
12:00 PM
Aquinas (Mich.) at IU Kokomo (Ind.)
12:00 PM
Texas Wesleyan at Bellevue (Neb.)
1:00 PM
Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) at Oklahoma City
1:00 PM
William Woods (Mo.) at Ottawa (Kan.)
1:00 PM
IU East (Ind.) at Park (Mo.)
1:00 PM
Mayville State (N.D.) at Midland (Neb.)
2:00 PM
Madonna (Mich.) at Viterbo (Wis.)
2:00 PM
Concordia (Neb.) at Xavier (La.)
2:00 PM
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) at Cornerstone (Mich.)
2:00 PM
Bryan (Tenn.) at Marian (Ind.)
2:00 PM
The Master’s (Calif) at Corban (Ore.)
3:00 PM
St. Mary (Kan.) at Jamestown (N.D.)
3:00 PM
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) at Providence (Mont.)
5:00 PM
Cottey (Mo.) at Central Methodist (Mo.)
5:00 PM
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) at Dordt (Iowa)
5:00 PM
Mobile (Ala.) at Keiser (Fla.)
5:00 PM
Bethel (Ind.) at Reinhardt (Ga.)
5:00 PM
McPherson (Kan.) at Grand View (Iowa)
6:00 PM
Merced (Calif.) at Eastern Oregon
7:00 PM
Trinity Christian (Ill.) at Northwestern (Iowa)
7:00 PM
Bushnell (Ore.) at Rocky Mountain (Mont.)
8:00 PM
Benedictine - Mesa (Ariz.) at Westmont (Calif.)
9:00 PM
***ALL TIMES CENTRAL***
WINNERS FROM THE NAIA OPENING ROUND GAMES WILL ADVANCE TO THE FINAL SITE IN SIOUX CITY, IOWA. POOL PLAY BEGINS ON TUESDAY, APRIL 27 AT THE TYSON EVENTS CENTER.
NAIA OPENING ROUND MATCHUP
MIDLAND UNIVERSITY 11-9 | Great Plains Athletic Conference
MAYVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY 23-10 | North Star Athletic Association
2:00pm | Saturday, April 17 | Wikert Event Center – Fremont, Neb. ABOUT THE WARRIORS After missing out on the NAIA National Tournament a season ago, Midland University is back in the tournament for the seventh time in eight seasons. The Warriors are ranked No. 12 in the latest NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll and own an 11-9 record. They earned an at-large bid out of the Great Plains Athletic Conference and are led by Paul Giesselmann in his 11th season.
SIGHTS SET ON SIOUX CITY The winner of today’s match will advance to the final site of the NAIA Volleyball Championship in Sioux City, Iowa. They will be joined by 23 other teams for the week long tournament finale. There will be 8 pools of three teams with pool play on April 27-28. The winner of each pool will advance to a singleelimination bracket that will be played on April 28-May 1.
ABOUT THE COMETS Mayville State University is making their first-ever appearance in the NAIA Volleyball Postseason. The Comets earned an at-large bid from the North Star Athletic Association after a 23-10 campaign. They were second in their conference during the regular season and are coached by Lindsey Johnson in her 13th season.
SETTING THE TABLE Sophomore setter Hope Leimbach ranks 2nd in the NAIA in assists per game with 11.95 set assists. She helps guide a Warriors’ attack that floors 13.75 kills per game, 8th best in the nation.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS Midland was one of five teams from the GPAC to earn a postseason berth. The Warriors are joined by No. 1 Jamestown, No. 5 Northwestern, No. 10 Concordia, and No. 16 Dordt. The North Star has three teams in the tournament field. No. 17 Viterbo and No. 18 Bellevue join the Comets in the field.
THE FULL SCOOP Mayville State is one of the best defensive teams in the NAIA when it comes to digging the attack. The Comets rank 2nd as a team with 2,734 total digs this season and average 22.05 per game. Senior Mason Hart is the team leader with an average or 6.97 digs per game which ranks 3rd in the nation.