INDIANAPOLIS- Fourth-ranked Southwest Minnesota State dropped just one spot to No. 2 in this week's NCAA Division II Central Region Rankings which was announced on Wednesday.
SMSU (23-3) fell from the top spot in this week's rankings after losing to Minnesota Duluth, 3-1 on the road this past Friday night. The Mustangs rebounded with a 3-1 win at St. Cloud State to finish last weekend with a 1-1 record.
No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul tops this week's Central Region rankings after going 2-0 last weekend. Six total NSIC schools made this week's region rankings as (4) Northern State, (5) Minnesota Duluth, (7) Winona State, and (10) Augustana each remained in the same region ranking as the first poll that was released last week.
The top eight teams in the region will advance to the NCAA region tournament on Nov. 30- Dec. 2. Automatic bids are granted to the winners of the MIAA, Great American Conference (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. 20 at 6:30 p.m. on
NCAA.com.
SMSU can clinch a first-round home match in the NSIC Tournament with a pair of wins this weekend. The Mustangs will travel to play No. 9 Minnesota Duluth on Friday night at 6 p.m., followed by their final road NSIC match of the regular season at St. Cloud State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
NCAA Central Region Rankings (Nov. 8)
| Rank |
Team |
Region
Record |
Overall
Record |
| 1 |
Concordia-St. Paul |
17-2 |
24-2 |
| 2 |
Southwest Minnesota State |
17-3 |
23-3 |
| 3 |
Nebraska-Kearney |
27-1 |
27-2 |
| 4 |
Northern State |
21-4 |
22-4 |
| 5 |
Minnesota Duluth |
19-3 |
22-4 |
| 6 |
Central Oklahoma |
26-4 |
26-4 |
| 7 |
Winona State |
15-5 |
19-7 |
| 8 |
Arkansas Tech |
24-0 |
25-0 |
| 9 |
Central Missouri |
19-6 |
22-7 |
| 10 |
Augustana |
18-8 |
20-8 |
